distorted
Americanadjective
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not truly or completely representing the facts or reality; misrepresented; false.
She has a distorted view of life.
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twisted; deformed; misshapen.
-
mentally or morally twisted, as with an aberration or bias.
He has a distorted sense of values.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of distorted
Explanation
If you have ever looked at yourself in a funhouse mirror, you probably saw an image that was quite distorted. Okay, so maybe your hair looked kind of weird that day, but your whole body wasn’t really that misshapen. This adjective is derived from the Latin verb distortus, which means “to twist different ways.” When something is distorted this can mean that it has been changed from the original form in any way. Someone can have a distorted worldview, or facts from an event can be distorted in the retelling. If a politician is misquoted in the newspaper, then it could be said that her opinion has been misrepresented or distorted by the media.
Vocabulary lists containing distorted
Twists and Turns: Tor
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Elie Wiesel's "Hope, Despair and Memory" (1986)
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"An Awful Human Trade," Vocabulary from the news article
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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.
"It is not merely about apology or compensation -- it is about the rehumanisation of memory and the restoration of values that were distorted by centuries of dehumanisation," he said.
From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026
In some videos, the AI generates figures without limbs or produces grotesquely distorted faces.
From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026
One caveat: The government shutdown last fall may have distorted the recent uptick in service prices, especially the cost of housing.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
Maybe their perception of it could be even more accurate, unburdened by distorted memories for an inherently objective historical account.
From Salon • May 30, 2026
Faces of my teachers, distorted with my exhaustion, saying over and over, “Sparrow is going to repeat eighth grade” and “Sparrow hasn’t done work in months” and “What’s wrong with your daughter, Ms. Cooke?”
From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon
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.
