distort
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
to pull or twist something out of its usual shape so that it looks strange.
to pull or twist something out of its original or natural shape. Transitive or intransitive use.
Simple“The heat from the fire started to distort the plastic frame of the television.”
In context“The heavy gravitational pull of the planet began to distort the surrounding light, creating a visual effect known as gravitational lensing.”
Antonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
to change facts or ideas so that they are no longer accurate or fair.
to give a false, perverted, or disproportionate account of something; to misrepresent facts or motives.
Simple“The newspaper was accused of trying to distort the facts to sell more copies.”
In context“Critics argued that the documentary tended to distort the historical reality of the conflict by omitting key diplomatic perspectives.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
to change a sound or image signal so that it is not clear.
to alter the shape of a wave or signal during transmission or amplification, resulting in a loss of fidelity.
Simple“The cheap speakers began to distort the music when I turned the volume up.”
In context“Atmospheric interference can significantly distort satellite signals, leading to errors in GPS positioning data if not properly corrected.”
Synonymsscramblegarble
“This can, in turn, distort their expectations of real relationships.”
“It’s not perfect, however; studies have found that the curve of the page can distort text, and pages can be missed.”
Borrowed from Latin distortum, past participle of distorqueō (“to twist, torture, distort”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.