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 move would have a negligible impact for U.S. oil companies and supplies, though it may be a sign of market distortions just beginning to take shape.

From Barron's

Even if it's just for tasks like lifting vocals from an old recording, or cleaning up distortion, machine learning is part of the production toolkit.

From BBC

Outdated infrastructure has created massive distortions in the energy market.

From The Wall Street Journal

If a sterile neutrino were sometimes produced instead, it would leave a recognizable distortion, or "kink," in that pattern.

From Science Daily

The Interior secretary told CNN at the time that bad actors could take advantage of radar distortion to “launch a swarm drone attack through a wind farm,” which Lippold said is laughable.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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