distorted
Americanadjective
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not truly or completely representing the facts or reality; misrepresented; false.
She has a distorted view of life.
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twisted; deformed; misshapen.
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mentally or morally twisted, as with an aberration or bias.
He has a distorted sense of values.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of distorted
Explanation
If you have ever looked at yourself in a funhouse mirror, you probably saw an image that was quite distorted. Okay, so maybe your hair looked kind of weird that day, but your whole body wasn’t really that misshapen. This adjective is derived from the Latin verb distortus, which means “to twist different ways.” When something is distorted this can mean that it has been changed from the original form in any way. Someone can have a distorted worldview, or facts from an event can be distorted in the retelling. If a politician is misquoted in the newspaper, then it could be said that her opinion has been misrepresented or distorted by the media.
Vocabulary lists containing distorted
Twists and Turns: Tor
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Elie Wiesel's "Hope, Despair and Memory" (1986)
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"An Awful Human Trade," Vocabulary from the news article
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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.
The statement issued by Netanyahu and Gideon Saar on Thursday accused the New York Times of "one of the most hideous and distorted lies ever published against the State of Israel in the modern press".
From BBC • May 15, 2026
The practice of "negative gearing" has distorted the market and would end on Tuesday, for all houses apart from those newly built, Chalmers said.
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
Lucy Osler of the University of Exeter examined how interactions with conversational AI could contribute to false beliefs, distorted memories, altered personal narratives, and even delusional thinking.
From Science Daily • May 11, 2026
“That uncertainty is showing up not only in commodity prices, but also in reported earnings, where timing effects and hedging-related impacts distorted otherwise strong underlying results,” Thummel said.
From MarketWatch • May 2, 2026
I heard Mr. Jordan’s vague, distorted sounds of victory.
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
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.
