distort
Americanverb (used with object)
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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 political branches or other international actors may well provide redress. But we decline to distort the statutory text or the Constitution’s allocation of powers to enlist U.S. courts in that project.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
According to the researchers, these deeply rooted mental models can persist because they reduce uncertainty, even if they also distort how reality is perceived.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 1, 2026
Warsh explained his skepticism of forward guidance last week by suggesting it can distort the message the central bank receives from financial markets, according to Ryan Swift, chief bond strategist at BCA Research.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
Deming goes old school to distort Reilly’s focus and bombard him with harsh spotlights.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
And there the ginger smell was sharp, sharp enough to distort dreams and make the sleeper believe the things he hungered for were right at hand.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
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
"When you go through something like that so young it kind of distorts your reality for a long time," Pesante said.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
Unlike most mortals, she could see through the Mist—the magic veil that distorts human vision.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
Krugman has argued the continent’s decline is exaggerated, that standard economic data has been distorted by the U.S. tech industry and doesn’t reflect the quality of life on either continent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
It’s a distorted hall of mirrors; you’re either perfect or your life is the worst in the world.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026
Dettol said the advert, which has been removed following the backlash, was intended to criticise gender stereotypes, but that snippets of it that later circulated online distorted its core message.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
Among them, the height to volume model was applied to heavily browsed willows with unusual growth forms, even though the model was not designed for such distorted shapes.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 14, 2026
Faces are distorted, arms strike out, and the beasts scream; we just stop in time to avoid attacking one another.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
Thomas Pearce, 19, from Old Colwyn, Conwy, has Pfeiffer Syndrome, which causes the skull to prematurely fuse in the womb, distorting the shape of the head and face.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
The jump in prices in certain sectors highlights the ways that the spending habits of the wealthy are distorting the economy.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 13, 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
The night was bleak and rain streaked the windows of the train, distorting the lights beyond, until the lights were gone.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
