distort

[ dih-stawrt ]
/ dɪˈstɔrt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR distort ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Origin of distort

1580–90; < Latin distortus (past participle of distorquēre to distort), equivalent to dis- dis-1 + tor(qu)- (stem of torquēre to twist) + -tus past participle suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM distort

Words nearby distort

distolinguo-occlusal, distomatosis, distomiasis, distomolar, distopulpal, distort, distorted, distortion, distortion aberration, distoversion, distr.

Words related to distort

pervert, misinterpret, disfigure, warp, twist, belie, misconstrue, deceive, misrepresent, mangle, alter, scam, color, whitewash, sag, bias, bend, fake, decline, angle

Example sentences from the Web for distort

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