distort
[ dih-stawrt ]
/ dɪˈstɔrt /
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verb (used with object)
to twist awry or out of shape; make crooked or deformed: Arthritis had distorted his fingers.
to give a false, perverted, or disproportionate meaning to; misrepresent: to distort the facts.
Electronics. to reproduce or amplify (a signal) inaccurately by changing the frequencies or unequally changing the delay or amplitude of the components of the output wave.
OTHER WORDS FOR distort
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Origin of distort
1580–90; from Latin distortus (past participle of distorquēre “to distort”), equivalent to dis-dis-1 + tor(qu)- (stem of torquēre “to twist”) + -tus past participle suffix
synonym study for distort
2. See misrepresent.
OTHER WORDS FROM distort
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use distort in a sentence
But, in the distortive movement, the mass will also gain energy in other forms.
The Energy System of Matter|James Weir
British Dictionary definitions for distort
distort
/ (dɪˈstɔːt) /
verb (tr)
(often passive) to twist or pull out of shape; make bent or misshapen; contort; deform
to alter or misrepresent (facts, motives, etc)
electronics to reproduce or amplify (a signal) inaccurately, changing the shape of the waveform
Derived forms of distort
Word Origin for distort
C16: from Latin distortus misshapen, from distorquēre to turn different ways, from dis- 1 + torquēre to twist
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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