[syn: deform, distort, strain]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Distort \Dis*tort"\, a. [L. distortus, p. p. of distorquere to
twist, distort; dis- + torquere to twist. See Torsion.]
Distorted; misshapen. [Obs.]
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Her face was ugly and her mouth distort. --Spenser.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Distort \Dis*tort"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Distorted; p. pr. &
vb. n. Distorting.]
1. To twist of natural or regular shape; to twist aside
physically; as, to distort the limbs, or the body.
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Whose face was distorted with pain. --Thackeray.
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2. To force or put out of the true posture or direction; to
twist aside mentally or morally.
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Wrath and malice, envy and revenge, do darken and
distort the understandings of men. --Tillotson.
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3. To wrest from the true meaning; to pervert; as, to distort
passages of Scripture, or their meaning.
Syn: To twist; wrest; deform; pervert.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
distort
v 1: make false by mutilation or addition; as of a message or
story [syn: falsify, distort, garble, warp]
2: form into a spiral shape; "The cord is all twisted" [syn:
twist, twine, distort] [ant: untwist]
3: twist and press out of shape [syn: contort, deform,
distort, wring]
4: affect as in thought or feeling; "My personal feelings color
my judgment in this case"; "The sadness tinged his life"
[syn: tinge, color, colour, distort]
5: alter the shape of (something) by stress; "His body was
deformed by leprosy" [syn: deform, distort, strain]