The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Contort \Con*tort"\, v. t. [L. contortus, p. p. of contorquere
   to twist; con- + torquere to twist. See Torture.]
   To twist, or twist together; to turn awry; to bend; to
   distort; to wrest.
   [1913 Webster]

         The vertebral arteries are variously contorted. --Ray.
   [1913 Webster]

         Kant contorted the term category from the proper
         meaning of attributed.                   --Sir W.
                                                  Hamilton.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

contort
    v 1: twist and press out of shape [syn: contort, deform,
         distort, wring]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

61 Moby Thesaurus words for "contort":
   bend, buckle, corkscrew, crinkle, crook, crumple, curve, distort,
   garble, get one wrong, get wrong, gloss, gnarl, intort, knot,
   meander, misapply, misapprehend, miscite, misconceive, misconstrue,
   misdeem, misexplain, misexplicate, misexpound, misinterpret,
   misjudge, misquote, misread, misrender, misshape, mistake,
   mistranslate, misunderstand, pervert, scallop, screw, serpentine,
   slink, snake, spring, squeeze, strain the sense, swirl, torture,
   turn, turn awry, twine, twirl, twist, twist and turn,
   twist the words, warp, whirl, whorl, wind, worm, wrench, wrest,
   wring, writhe