distorted
Americanadjective
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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.
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.
That institution comes in for specific criticism from Savouri who quips that the IMF acronym would be more accurate were it to represent the Invariably Mistaken Forecaster providing Grossly Distorted Projections.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026
Distorted observations can lead to miscalculations of the amounts of important substances in the air, such as water and methane, and the type and levels of particles in the atmosphere.
From Science Daily • Nov. 27, 2023
Through the brief, three-race campaign of Cloud Computing, a colt out of Maclean’s Music with Distorted Humor and A.P.
From Washington Post • May 20, 2017
Distorted guitar riffs were a staple, but the best songs of the evening — the ominous “My Song No. 5” and hip-shaker “The Wire” — were propelled primarily by keyboard riffs and layered percussion.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 16, 2014
Distorted images of Clay Derby’s face floated into her mind.
From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper
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.
