distorted

[dih-stawr-tid]

See more synonyms for distorted on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not truly or completely representing the facts or reality; misrepresented; false: She has a distorted view of life.
twisted; deformed; misshapen.
mentally or morally twisted, as with an aberration or bias: He has a distorted sense of values.

Origin of distorted

First recorded in 1625–35; distort + -ed²

Related formsdis·tort·ed·ly, adverbdis·tort·ed·ness, nounnon·dis·tort·ed, adjectivenon·dis·tort·ed·ly, adverbnon·dis·tort·ed·ness, nounun·dis·tort·ed, adjectiveun·dis·tort·ed·ly, adverb

distort

[dih-stawrt]

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.

Origin of distort

1580–90; < Latin distortus (past participle of distorquēre to distort), equivalent to dis- dis-¹ + tor(qu)- (stem of torquēre to twist) + -tus past participle suffix

Related formsdis·tort·er, noundis·tor·tive, adjectivenon·dis·tort·ing, adjectivenon·dis·tort·ing·ly, adverbnon·dis·tor·tive, adjectiveo·ver·dis·tort, verb (used with object)un·dis·tort·ing, adjective

Synonyms for distort

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

2. pervert, misconstrue, twist, falsify, misstate. See misrepresent.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for distorted

wry, gnarled, colored, perverted, askew, awry, cockeyed, anamorphic

Examples from the Web for distorted

Contemporary Examples of distorted

It starts off like any other Lana tune, replete with minor chords and humming, distorted vocals.
The 14 Best Songs of 2014: Bobby Shmurda, Future Islands, Drake, and More
Marlow Stern
December 31, 2014
“I think the attacks on Fareed are distorted, irresponsible, and unfair,” Weisberg emailed.
Can Fareed Zakaria Survive A Plagiarism Firestorm?
Lloyd Grove
November 12, 2014
I speak here to warn people that the facts presented in the opera are incomplete and distorted.
Rudy Giuliani: Why I Protested ‘The Death of Klinghoffer’
Rudy Giuliani
October 20, 2014
What we hear about the women of Everest is often sensationalized, exaggerated, reimagined or distorted—if we hear anything at all.
Breaking Mount Everest’s Glass Ceiling
Amanda Padoan, Peter Zuckerman
March 30, 2014
But the Mandela legacy has also given South Africa a distorted sense of exceptionalism.
Mandela: The Last Good Man
Mark Gevisser
December 5, 2013

Historical Examples of distorted

That face, now ashy white, was distorted into a diabolical grin.
Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates
Howard Pyle
The lurid light of the fire showed us ourselves in distorted shadows.
A Woman Tenderfoot
Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson
The face of the dead man was distorted and blackened by the agony of strangulation.
Henry Dunbar
M. E. Braddon
His view's so distorted it makes me mad, but there's something in it you can't get away from.
The Harbor
Ernest Poole
And her face was distorted by an emotion that seemed of sorrow and anger mingled.
A Spirit in Prison
Robert Hichens

British Dictionary definitions for distorted

distort

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 Formsdistorted, adjectivedistortedly, adverbdistortedness, noundistorter, noundistortive, adjective

Word Origin for distort

C16: from Latin distortus misshapen, from distorquēre to turn different ways, from dis- 1 + torquēre to twist

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for distorted

distort

1580s, from Latin distortus, past participle of distorquere "to twist different ways, distort," from dis- "completely" + torquere "to twist" (see thwart). Related: Distorted; distorting.