distort
Americanverb (used with object)
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distorts,
present (3rd person singular)
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distorted,
past participle, past
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distorting
present participle
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to twist awry or out of shape; make crooked or deformed.
Arthritis had distorted his fingers.
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to give a false, perverted, or disproportionate meaning to; misrepresent.
to distort the facts.
- Synonyms:
- misstate, falsify, twist, misconstrue, pervert
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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.
verb
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(often passive) to twist or pull out of shape; make bent or misshapen; contort; deform
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to alter or misrepresent (facts, motives, etc)
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electronics to reproduce or amplify (a signal) inaccurately, changing the shape of the waveform
Synonym Usage
See misrepresent.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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distortednessnoun
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distorternoun
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overdistortverb (used with object)
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distortedadjective
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distortiveadjective
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nondistortingadjective
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nondistortiveadjective
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undistortingadjective
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distortedlyadverb
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nondistortinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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distortsimple
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distortssimple
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have distortedperfect
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has distortedperfect
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am distortingprogressive
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are distortingprogressive
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is distortingprogressive
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have been distortingperfect progressive
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has been distortingperfect progressive
Past
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distortedsimple
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had distortedperfect
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was distortingprogressive
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were distortingprogressive
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had been distortingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing distort
Twists and Turns: Tor
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Metamorphosis
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Number the Stars
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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.
See Examples For:
The practice “may distort competition, stifle innovation, and potentially lead to monopolies or market concentration in strategic sectors,” as the Center for Strategic and International Studies put it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
She added: "No matter what noises exist out there, nothing will be able to distort my reality or be more real to me or not as real to me as this love that we share."
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
"These allegations are all either baseless or they distort the truth," he has said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
Hot IPOs are often priced for perfection, launched into maximum excitement and supported by a limited float that can temporarily distort the share price.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
You saw the flash, then heard the crack, then saw the smoke ball distort and thin in the wind.
From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
Mitchell and Pomerleau argue the exclusion is inefficient, distorts economic decision-making, and treats taxpayers with similar levels of income differently.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
“Corruption doesn’t just slow progress, it distorts it. It raises costs, weakens competition, and erodes the trust that markets depend on. It’s not a victimless problem,” Johnson said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2026
"J1007+3540 is one of the clearest and most spectacular examples of episodic AGN with jet-cluster interaction, where the surrounding hot gas bends, compresses, and distorts the jets," Dr. Pal explained.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 13, 2026
Bad weather often distorts the jobs report by making it seem as if employment was weaker than it really was.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 5, 2026
The difference in tangential velocities deflects or distorts it.
From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd
It was almost impossible to hear the presentation because the volume was turned up so loud that the sound was distorted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
The agendas also contained a distorted periodic table, unreadable phases of the moon and other garbled educational material that parents suspect may have been created using artificial intelligence.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
Reviews weren't allowed - but let's just say the new material, with its distorted guitars and punchy drums, sounded even better live.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
These properties can be arranged into topological structures, which are patterns that remain stable even when stretched or distorted.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
His voice sounds deep and distorted in this cavern.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
But there is a risk that, in markets with more retail activity, these same tools could help to drive even more investors into a handful of hot names, crowding stocks and distorting prices.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
Those subsidies, heavily criticised in the EU and US for distorting markets, have helped companies expand rapidly and cut prices.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
This points to something else AI is distorting: international trade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
His side accused Lively of distorting events on set and filed a defamation suit seeking $400 million in damages against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and others.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
She talks about me distorting, but look at her.
From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel
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.
