warped
Americanadjective
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bent or twisted out of shape, especially from a flat or straight form.
A couple of warped planks made a sort of rickety footbridge from the sidewalk to the door.
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bent or turned from the natural, normal, or true direction or character.
This manipulative behavior comes from the warped relationship she had with her over-controlling mother.
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distorted from the truth, fact, true meaning or interpretation, etc.; biased; false.
Unfortunately you can always find a huge number of websites that will support any warped worldview your anxiety presents you with.
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Aeronautics. (of a wing or other airfoil) curved or bent at the end to promote equilibrium or to secure lateral control.
A warped wing also shows significant improvement in the aircraft’s lift-to-drag ratio.
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Agriculture. (of land) fertilized by flooding with water that deposits alluvial matter.
Water management systems evolved to bring nutrients to fields—as in rice paddies, but also in the water meadows and warped fields of Europe.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of warped
First recorded in 1425–75; warp ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; warp ( def. ) + -ed 1 ( def. ) for the verb sense
Explanation
Use the adjective warped to describe something that's twisted or bent. If you leave a wooden kitchen chair out in the rain, it may eventually become too warped to sit on. Something that's warped is misshapen, like a maple cutting board left to soak in the sink, or a plastic cup that melted and twisted in the hot summer sun. Colloquially, you can also use this word for anything bizarre or distorted, like your older brother's weird, warped sense of humor. The Germanic root of warped means "to turn or bend."
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.
But for us Xennials and millennials in the crowd who remember the OG Warped Tour, the ska punk band’s set was a fun break from the more traditional Coachella fare.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
Even behind the scenes, people like Kevin Lyman, who founded the Vans Warped Tour and is a longtime Altadena resident, is working as the event’s lead producer.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 27, 2025
Rotella says that for years, he was “bugging” Lyman to consider it, and even though Insomniac had previous opportunities to produce other rock events, Pasquale had his sights set on Warped Tour.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 21, 2025
In the ’90s, Cabler formed his own punk band, El Centro, which played shows in Southern California and on the Vans Warped Tour.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2024
Warped, distorted, malignant as her judgment too often was, there was something very vital in that despairing cry from Italy; and in spite of herself Eva could not banish its echo from her ears.
From The Making of a Soul by Rhodes, Kathlyn
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.
