contort
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have contortedperfect
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has contortedperfect 3rd person singular
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are contortingprogressive
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has been contortingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been contortingperfect progressive
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am contortingprogressive 1st person singular
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is contortingprogressive 3rd person singular
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contortssingular 3rd person
-
contortingparticiple
Past
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had contortedperfect
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was contortingprogressive singular
-
were contortingprogressive plural
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had been contortingperfect progressive
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contortedparticiple
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contortedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of contort
1555–65; < Latin contortus twisted together, past participle of contorquēre. See con-, tort
Explanation
To contort something is to bend or twist it out of its original shape. Faces are often said to contort with one particular emotion or another. In general contort refers to something that is fairly adaptable and can return to its previous shape. A face, after it has contorted with rage, for example, will return to its normal expression (unless you've done something really bad.). If you bend or twist your sister's doll, you "break it" rather than "contort it."
Vocabulary lists containing contort
Of Mice and Men
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Twists and Turns: Tor
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A Long Way Gone
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This is a book of endless storytelling, as characters contort themselves to please the regime’s shifting narratives.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026
It’ll go down with knotty LPs by Tori Amos and Fiona Apple that contort classical traditions to tangled, personal ends, and this track sums up her mission beautifully.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2025
He has the preternatural ability to contort his facial expressions ever so slightly, going from innocent to cold and malevolent and back again in a split second.
From Salon • Mar. 18, 2025
Ozy leaders were willing not just to fabricate numbers and forge documents, but also to contort themselves to fit into whatever distorted mold they thought would benefit the company.
From Slate • Dec. 12, 2024
Somehow, Tiny Cooper manages to contort himself so that his massive head cries on my narrow shoulder.
From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
