deform may imply a change of shape through stress, injury, or accident of growth.
a face deformed by hatred
distort and contort both imply a wrenching from the natural or normal, but contort suggests a more involved twisting and a more grotesque and painful result.
the odd camera angle distorts the figure
disease had contorted her body
warp indicates an uneven shrinking that bends or twists out of a flat plane.
warped floorboards
Examples of distort in a Sentence
Her face was distorted by pain.
The odd camera angle distorted her figure in the photograph.
The sound of the guitar was distorted.
Heat caused the plastic to distort.
She felt he was distorting the facts.
The story was distorted by the press.
The loss of both her parents at an early age distorted her outlook on life.
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Nevertheless, rumors about Altman’s personal life have been exploited and distorted by competitors.—👁 Image Ronan Farrow, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026 By taking on the condition of a servant, the Son reveals the Father’s glory, overturning the worldly standards that so often distort our conscience.—👁 Image Mike Snider, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2026 Objects were frequently distorted or missing key components.—👁 Image ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026 One slide showed the Pirates of the Caribbean alum on a FaceTime call with Daisy, whose face was distorted by a funny filter and framed by blonde side bangs.—👁 Image Hannah Malach, InStyle, 1 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for distort
Word History
Etymology
Latin distortus, past participle of distorquēre, from dis- + torquēre to twist — more at torture entry 1
: to tell in a way that is misleading : misrepresent
distorted the facts
2
: to twist out of a natural, normal, or original shape or condition
distorternoun
Etymology
from Latin distortus, past participle of distorquēre "to distort, twist out of proper meaning," from dis- "reverse, apart" and torquēre "to twist" — related to extort, retort, torture
