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

Other Word Forms

• contortive 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

Then she laughs—a gleeful, inhuman, full-throated laugh that contorts her body into unnatural angles and positions.

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When it was retired last year, it was replaced with a newer, fully electric model developers said could contort its metal frame in even more ways.

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

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Performing under the name Mary Caryl, Serritella contorts her body into positions called “The Chopstick,” “The Jade Split” and “The Black Sun Split,” whirling around a silver pole as disco music plays.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But it’s also how she presents in the world of modeling, hooked up to wires, contorting her body to emulate a snake and sprawled across a hospital bed.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• deform 
• writhe