distortion

American  

[dih-stawr-shuhn] / dɪˈstɔr ʃən /

noun

1. an act or instance of distorting.

2. the state of being distorted distorted or the relative degree or amount by which something is distorted distorted or distorts.

3. anything that is distorted, distorted, as a sound, image, fact, etc.

4. Optics. an aberration of a lens or system of lenses in which the magnification of the object varies with the lateral distance from the axis of the lens.

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distortion British  

/ dɪˈstɔːʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of distorting or the state of being distorted

2. something that is distorted

3. an aberration of a lens or optical system in which the magnification varies with the lateral distance from the axis

4. electronics

   1. an undesired change in the shape of an electromagnetic wave or signal

   2. the result of such a change in waveform, esp a loss of clarity in radio reception or sound reproduction

5. psychol a change in perception so that it does not correspond to reality

6. psychoanal the disguising of the meaning of unconscious thoughts so that they may appear in consciousness, e.g. in dreams

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Other Word Forms

• distortional adjective
• distortionary adjective
• nondistortion noun
• overdistortion noun

Etymology

Origin of distortion

First recorded in 1575–85, distortion is from the Latin word distortiōn- (stem of distortiō ). See distort, -ion

Example Sentences

"The distortion tends to be highest among younger respondents."

From BBC

A dollop of tax reform, a big dose of deregulation and an AI investment boom are allowing the economy to cope with the tariff distortions and uncertainty.

From The Wall Street Journal

The instrument also paved the way to an aesthetics of electricity—feedback, distortion, fuzz, sheer volume—that led to such genres as heavy metal, punk, grunge and shoegaze.

From The Wall Street Journal

But the model has had a difficult time handling distortions that occurred in the pandemic’s aftermath, where at first a large number of businesses were started, but then business births and deaths quickly normalized.

From The Wall Street Journal

Chinese indexes were mixed after inflation data rekindled deflation worries, though seasonal distortions were a major driver of the soft print.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bias
• exaggeration
• lie
• misinterpretation
• misrepresentation
• misstatement
• misuse