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Synonyms

contorted

American  
[kuhn-tawr-tid] / kənˈtɔr tɪd /

adjective

  1. twisted in a violent manner; distorted.

  2. twisted back on itself; convoluted.

contorted British  
/ kənˈtɔːtɪd /

adjective

  1. twisted out of shape

  2. (esp of petals and sepals in a bud) twisted so that they overlap on one side

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • contortedly adverb
  • contortedness noun
  • intercontorted adjective
  • uncontorted adjective
  • uncontortedly adverb

Etymology

Origin of contorted

First recorded in 1615–25; contort + -ed 2

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.

A figure was walking swiftly past a top-floor window, and its face was contorted with anger.

From Literature

Coal took an early shower and contorted himself trying to extract the splinters from hard-to-reach places with a pair of tweezers.

From Literature

Acquiring the semiautonomous Danish territory would further elevate his claims to greatness and the status of legend in his own contorted reality.

From Salon

Her contorted expression is rotted by anguish, as though life’s unbearable burdens have laid waste to their latest victim.

From Salon

“I actually find him really small and contorted and tortured.”

From The Wall Street Journal

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.