distort

[ dih-stawrt ]

verb (used with object)

1. to twist awry or out of shape; make crooked or deformed:

   Arthritis had distorted his fingers.

2. to give a false, perverted, or disproportionate meaning to; misrepresent:

   to distort the facts.

   Synonyms: misstate, falsify, twist, misconstrue, pervert

3. Electronics. to reproduce or amplify (a signal) inaccurately by changing the frequencies or unequally changing the delay or amplitude of the components of the output wave.

distort

/ dɪˈstɔːt /

verb

1. often passive to twist or pull out of shape; make bent or misshapen; contort; deform
2. to alter or misrepresent (facts, motives, etc)
3. electronics to reproduce or amplify (a signal) inaccurately, changing the shape of the waveform

Derived Forms

• disˈtortedly, adverb
• disˈtorted, adjective
• disˈtortedness, noun
• disˈtorter, noun
• disˈtortive, adjective

Other Words From

• dis·torter noun
• dis·tortive adjective
• nondis·torting adjective
• nondis·torting·ly adverb
• nondis·tortive adjective
• over·dis·tort verb (used with object)
• undis·torting adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of distort¹

1580–90; from Latin distortus (past participle of distorquēre “to distort”), equivalent to dis- dis- ¹ + tor(qu)- (stem of torquēre “to twist”) + -tus past participle suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of distort¹

C16: from Latin distortus misshapen, from distorquēre to turn different ways, from dis- ¹+ torquēre to twist

Synonym Study

See misrepresent.

Example Sentences

The decisions we make about where to live are distorted not just by politics that play down climate risks, but also by expensive subsidies and incentives aimed at defying nature.

From ProPublica

Earlier studies about digital contact tracing have been widely distorted.

From MIT Technology Review

Because these new constellations are being deployed in lower orbits, they’re much brighter, leaving behind long bright streaks on the image and sometimes distorting other parts of the data.

From MIT Technology Review

They take a scientific pose to gain your confidence and then distort the facts to their own purposes.

From Nautilus

That concept of distorting perception was important, Ginzel said.

From ProPublica

And would-be collectors like Henry Stephenson continue to distort the cultural record in their hunt for hidden treasures.

From The Daily Beast

Saying a word in a different tone can distort or utterly mangle a line.

From The Daily Beast

Hollywood would never grossly distort the Civil War or D-Day.

From The Daily Beast

Or, they could distort the contents of the bill and attack anyone who disagreed with them as a legal Luddite and hysteric.

From The Daily Beast

I have witnessed at first hand how Irving likes to distort things.

From The Daily Beast

The temptation to distort facts to make a good story is strong; I have seen it in my connection with the 'Courier.'

From Project Gutenberg

Shakspere's contemporaries don't imitate Nature, they distort it, give Passion, and no Reason.

From Project Gutenberg

Wherefore then should grief sadden and distort such blythe, such jocund, features as mine?

From Project Gutenberg

What he wants is not an enlightened and truthful agent, but a man who will distort the truth to suit his prejudices.

From Project Gutenberg

Such a wire must be a little slack, or, as illustrated above, it will distort the framework.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• alter
• belie
• deceive
• disfigure
• mangle
• misconstrue
• misinterpret
• misrepresent
• pervert
• twist
• warp