contort

[ kuhn-tawrt ]

verb (used with object)

1. to twist, bend, or draw out of shape; distort.

verb (used without object)

1. to become twisted, distorted, or strained:

   His face contorted into a grotesque sneer.

contort

/ kənˈtɔːt /

verb

1. to twist or bend severely out of place or shape, esp in a strained manner

Derived Forms

• conˈtortive, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of contort¹

1555–65; < Latin contortus twisted together, past participle of contorquēre. See con-, tort

Word History and Origins

Origin of contort¹

C15: from Latin contortus intricate, obscure, from contorquēre to whirl around, from torquēre to twist, wrench

Example Sentences

While the usual suspects of locker room talk — racism, bigotry and a petty necessity to keep calling the Washington Commanders the “Redskins” — featured prominently in the culture of football, what was most striking was the sport’s seemingly inherent drive to contort bodies into the political and social category of manly.

From Salon

In the weeks that followed, I tried to contort the conversation back to the assault.

From Slate

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colorado, suggested that Trump's allies are disparaging Walz because they "have no ideas and no vision for the future, so all they can do is attack and lie and twist and contort and it shows the country their complete lack of leadership."

From Salon

Vance “weird” is rather effective, and has caused Vance and his party-mates to contort themselves to prove he’s not, in fact, weird.

From Slate

This braced leg then acted as a pivot for the rest of his body to contort over with his bowling arm up high in his unique 'beyond the perpendicular' style.

From BBC

Related Words

• deform
• writhe