distort

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin distortum, past participle of distorqueō (“to twist, torture, distort”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /dɪˈstɔɹt/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /dɪˈstɔːt/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)t

Verb

distort (third-person singular simple present distorts, present participle distorting, simple past and past participle distorted)

1. (transitive) To bring something out of shape, to misshape.
2. (intransitive, ergative) To become misshapen.
3. (transitive) To give a false or misleading account of

   In their articles, journalists sometimes distort the truth.

Synonyms

• (to bring something out of shape): deform

Derived terms

• distorter

Related terms

• distorted (adjective)
• distortion

Translations

to bring something out of shape

• Arabic: يشوّه‎ (yoshawweh)
• Bulgarian: изкривявам (bg) (izkrivjavam), деформирам (bg) (deformiram)
• Catalan: deformar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 歪曲 (zh) (wāiqū)

• Danish: forvrænge
• Dutch: vervormen (nl)
• Esperanto: tordi, distordi
• Finnish: vääristää (fi), vääntää (fi)
• French: déformer (fr), distordre (fr)
• Galician: deformar (gl), distorsionar, distorcer
• German: verzerren (de)
• Greek: παραμορφώνω (el) (paramorfóno), διαστρεβλώνω (el) (diastrevlóno), διαστρέφω (el) (diastréfo)
• Hungarian: torzít (hu), eltorzít (hu)
• Irish: cuir as a chuma, athchum, cam, fiar
• Italian: deformare (it)
• Japanese: 歪める (ja) (ゆがめる, yugameru), 曲げる (ja) (まげる, mageru)
• Khmer: ធ្វើអោយខុសពីភាពដើម (thvəəʼaoykhohpiiphiəpdaəm)
• Latin: distorqueō
• Maori: kōrori, kōrorirori, whakariroi, whakarori, whakahawe, whakaparori, whakariroi
• Norwegian: forvrenge, fordreie
• Old English: tōwrīþan, atolian, unwlitigian, āwemman
• Polish: zniekształcać (pl) impf (of objects), zniekształcić (pl) pf (of objects), przesterowywać impf (of sounds), przesterować pf (of sounds)
• Portuguese: distorcer (pt), deformar (pt)
• Russian: искажа́ть (ru) impf (iskažátʹ), искази́ть (ru) pf (iskazítʹ); искривля́ть (ru) impf (iskrivljátʹ), искриви́ть (ru) pf (iskrivítʹ); изгиба́ть (ru) impf (izgibátʹ), изогну́ть (ru) pf (izognútʹ)
• Spanish: deformar (es), distorsionar (es)
• Swedish: förvränga (sv)
• Walloon: kitoide (wa)

to become misshapen

• Finnish: vääristyä (fi), vääntyä (fi)
• Galician: deformar (gl)
• Hungarian: torzul (hu), eltorzul (hu)
• Maori: pakoki
• Spanish: deformar (es)

to give false account of

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Azerbaijani: təhrif etmək
• Bulgarian: изопачавам (bg) (izopačavam)
• Catalan: tergiversar (ca), distorsionar (ca)
• Danish: forvrænge
• Dutch: verdraaien (nl), vervalsen (nl)
• Esperanto: misprezenti
• Finnish: vääristää (fi), vääristellä (fi)
• French: déformer (fr)
• Galician: terxiversar (gl), distorsionar, distorcer, desvirtuar (gl)
• German: verzerren (de)
• Greek: διαστρεβλώνω (el) (diastrevlóno)
• Hungarian: torzít (hu), csúsztat (hu), eltorzít (hu), elferdít (hu), meghamisít (hu)
• Irish: cuir as a ríocht, cuir cor i, cuir casadh i
• Italian: distorcere (it)
• Japanese: 歪める (ja) (ゆがめる, yugameru)
• Khmer: បង្ខូចទ្រង់ទ្រាយ (bɑɑngkhouctrŭəngtriəy)
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Malayalam: വളച്ചൊടിക്കുക (vaḷaccoṭikkuka)
• Maori: whakariro, aweke
• Norwegian: forvrenge
• Polish: wypaczać (pl)
• Portuguese: distorcer (pt)
• Russian: искажа́ть (ru) impf (iskažátʹ), искази́ть (ru) pf (iskazítʹ); извраща́ть (ru) impf (izvraščátʹ), изврати́ть (ru) pf (izvratítʹ)
• Spanish: tergiversar (es), distorsionar (es), desvirtuar (es)
• Swedish: förvränga (sv)
• Ukrainian: спотворювати impf (spotvorjuvaty), спотворити pf (spotvoryty), викривляти impf (vykryvljaty), викривити pf (vykryvyty)

Adjective

distort (comparative more distort, superlative most distort)

1. (obsolete) Distorted; misshapen.
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 36:

     Her face was ugly and her mouth distort.