distortion
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
a change in the shape of something that makes it look strange or unnatural.
a change in the physical shape, appearance, or proportions of an object or image.
Simple“The heat from the fire caused a strange distortion in the glass window.”
In context“Wide-angle lenses often produce a noticeable distortion at the edges of the frame, making straight lines appear curved.”
Synonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
an unpleasant change in a sound, often making it fuzzy or unclear.
an unwanted change in an audio signal during amplification or recording, resulting in a fuzzy or harsh sound quality.
Simple“The cheap speakers produced a lot of distortion when the volume was turned up.”
In context“Heavy metal guitarists intentionally use distortion pedals to create a thick, aggressive sound that defines the genre.”
Synonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
a problem with a lens that makes an image look blurry or stretched.
an aberration in an optical system that causes magnification to vary across the field of view.
Simple“The scientist adjusted the microscope to fix the distortion in the image.”
In context“The telescope's primary mirror required precise calibration to eliminate the spherical distortion that was blurring distant star clusters.”
Synonyms
“If you look from the right angle in the right lighting, you may be able to see a bit of distortion, but you can’t really feel it while using the screen.”
“Symptoms generally appear later, as blurred or reduced central vision, a blind spot, distortion of straight lines and altered colour perception,” he said.”
Borrowed from Latin distortio, distortionis, from distortus.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.