contortion C2 Topic:The Human Body US /kənˈtɔr.ʃən/ UK /kənˈtɔː.ʃən/ See IPA manual Freq #135011 Meanings 1 noun a twisted, strained, or unnatural position or movement of the body or face His face tightened into a contortion of pain. 2 noun the act or process of twisting or deforming something The crash caused a severe contortion of the metal frame. 3 noun an acrobatic practice involving extreme bending and flexing of the body Years of training allowed her to perform the contortion safely. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a twisted, strained, or... twistdistortion 2 noun · the act or process of... deformationtorsion 3 noun · an acrobatic practice... contortionism ↔ Opposites straighteningalignment Word family Forms contortions Derived forms contortionatecontortionismcontortionist Related forms contorttortuous Etymology From Middle French contortion, ultimately from Latin contorquere ("to twist together"), formed from con- ("together") + torquere ("to twist"). Topics The Human Body External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # contortion **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /kənˈtɔr.ʃən/ **IPA (UK):** /kənˈtɔː.ʃən/ **Frequency rank:** 135011 ## Meanings 1. a twisted, strained, or unnatural position or movement of the body or face 2. the act or process of twisting or deforming something 3. an acrobatic practice involving extreme bending and flexing of the body ## Examples - His face tightened into a contortion of pain. - The crash caused a severe contortion of the metal frame. - Years of training allowed her to perform the contortion safely. ## Synonyms - twist - distortion - deformation - torsion ## Antonyms - straightening - alignment ## Derived Forms - contortionate - contortionism - contortionist ## Related Forms - contort - tortuous ## Etymology From Middle French contortion, ultimately from Latin contorquere ("to twist together"), formed from con- ("together") + torquere ("to twist"). ## Topics - The Human Body markdown