distort

C1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /dɪˈstoɹt/ UK /dɪˈstɔːt/ See IPA manual

verb adj Freq #31975

Meanings

1

verb
To give a false or misleading account of something.

Newspapers sometimes distort the truth to make a better story.
2

verb
To pull or twist something out of its normal shape.

The heat distorted the plastic frame.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to give a false or... skew

2 verb · to pull or twist something... deform warp

Word family

Forms distorteddistortedlydistortingdistorts

Derived forms distortabledistorterdistortiveundistort

Related forms distorteddistortion

Etymology

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

*terkʷ- Proto-Indo-European distortum Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

# distort

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** verb, adj
**IPA (US):** dɪˈstoɹt
**IPA (UK):** dɪˈstɔːt
**Frequency rank:** 31975

## Meanings
1. To give a false or misleading account of something.
2. To pull or twist something out of its normal shape.

## Examples
- Newspapers sometimes distort the truth to make a better story.
- The heat distorted the plastic frame.

## Derived Forms
- distortable
- distorter
- distortive
- undistort

## Related Forms
- distorted
- distortion

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *terkʷ-
- Root: distortum

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

## AI Etymology
Distort is borrowed from Latin distortum, past participle of distorqueō (“to twist, torture, distort”). The historical chain includes *terkʷ- (Proto-Indo-European) and distortum (Latin). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as distortable, distorter, distortive, and undistort and related forms such as distorted and distortion. In present use it covers to give a false or misleading account of something and to pull or twist something out of its normal shape.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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distort

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