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.
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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.
In retrospect, Robert Freeman’s autumnal, artfully distorted photograph was an entirely apt image for a worldlier, darker, more grown-up Beatles record.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Bianco thinks the era of financial repression has given investors a distorted view of what returns they should expect from stocks and bonds.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
Instead, he mentally revisited the many things that could have distorted the measurement, including small variations in temperature and pressure.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
Some critics think a 2024 move from phone-based to online surveys by Michigan might have distorted its sentiment readings, for example.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
The television screen flickered; its picture grew distorted.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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.
