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distort
[ dih-stawrt ]
/ dÉȘËstÉrt /
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verb (used with object)
to twist awry or out of shape; make crooked or deformed: Arthritis had distorted his fingers.
to give a false, perverted, or disproportionate meaning to; misrepresent: to distort the facts.
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.
OTHER WORDS FOR distort
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Origin of distort
1580â90; from Latin distortus (past participle of distorquÄre âto distortâ), equivalent to dis-dis-1 + tor(qu)- (stem of torquÄre âto twistâ) + -tus past participle suffix
synonym study for distort
2. See misrepresent.
OTHER WORDS FROM distort
Words nearby distort
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use distort in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for distort
distort
/ (dÉȘËstÉËt) /
verb (tr)
(often passive) to twist or pull out of shape; make bent or misshapen; contort; deform
to alter or misrepresent (facts, motives, etc)
electronics to reproduce or amplify (a signal) inaccurately, changing the shape of the waveform
Derived forms of distort
Word Origin for distort
C16: from Latin distortus misshapen, from distorquÄre to turn different ways, from dis- 1 + torquÄre to twist
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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