distort

[dih-stawrt]

verb (used with object)

1. to twist awry or out of shape; make crooked or deformed.

   Arthritis had distorted his fingers.

2. to give a false, perverted, or disproportionate meaning to; misrepresent.

   to distort the facts.

   Synonyms: misstate, falsify, twist, misconstrue, pervert

3. 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.

distort

/ dɪˈstɔːt /

verb

1. (often passive) to twist or pull out of shape; make bent or misshapen; contort; deform

2. to alter or misrepresent (facts, motives, etc)

3. electronics to reproduce or amplify (a signal) inaccurately, changing the shape of the waveform

Other Word Forms

• distorter noun
• distortive adjective
• nondistorting adjective
• nondistortingly adverb
• nondistortive adjective
• overdistort verb (used with object)
• undistorting adjective
• distortedly adverb
• distorted adjective
• distortedness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of distort¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of distort¹

C16: from Latin distortus misshapen, from distorquēre to turn different ways, from _dis- ¹ + torquēre to twist

Synonym Study

See misrepresent.

Example Sentences

If she’s elected to Congress, Gonzales-Torres said her first priority would be to go after corporations that are “raising prices for everyday people” and their lobbyists who distort the political process in Washington.

From Salon

It’s part of a long-standing right-wing script that is used to distort the reality of gun violence and redirect attention away from the need for stricter federal firearm limitations.

From Salon

The second thing that conservatives are protecting is their own distorted view of Judeo-Christian teachings.

From Salon

This, too, fits into the right’s distorted gender stereotypes.

From Salon

But the picture was wobbly and the sound distorted.

From BBC

Related Words

• alter 
• belie 
• deceive 
• disfigure 
• mangle 
• misconstrue 
• misinterpret 
• misrepresent 
• pervert 
• twist 
• warp