distort

American  

[dih-stawrt] / dɪˈstɔrt /

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.

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distort British  

/ 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

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Related Words

See misrepresent.

Other Word Forms

• distorted adjective
• distortedly adverb
• distortedness noun
• distorter noun
• distortive adjective
• nondistorting adjective
• nondistortingly adverb
• nondistortive adjective
• overdistort verb (used with object)
• undistorting adjective

Etymology

Origin of distort

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

Explanation

Distort means to twist out of shape. When you look at a tree through a twisting kaleidoscope, you distort its image, making its branches and leaves look wavy and misshapen. Distort is a verb that means to change the shape of something. You can distort pretzel dough by twisting it into the shape of an "S" instead of a normal pretzel shape. You can also distort, or change, the meaning of something. When one distorts the truth, it might not be an out-and-out lie; it could just be an exaggeration — like telling your pals you caught a six-foot tuna when you actually landed a six-inch minnow.

Example Sentences

These dark, active regions can distort observations by brightening certain wavelengths and hiding parts of the atmospheric signal.

From Science Daily • Apr. 6, 2026

Progressive Christian voices, including influencer and commentator Tim Whitaker, described the comparison as “blasphemous,” reflecting a broader concern that religious language is being used in ways that distort core theological meaning.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026

Those two categories can swing up and down abruptly in the short run and distort inflation readings — precisely what oil is likely to do in the next few months.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 10, 2026

Valuing Micron is tricky because cyclical earnings distort traditional price-to-earnings snapshots.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

At The Maids, a housecleaning service, I am given something called the “Accutrac personality test,” which warns at the beginning that “Accutrac has multiple measures which detect attempts to distort or ‘psych out’ the questionnaire.”

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

Related Words

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