twist

twist

verb

Definition of TWIST

1

to change so much as to create a wrong impression or alter the meaning of <my enemies will twist my words, but you'll only hear the truth out of me>

Synonyms bend, color, cook, distort, falsify, fudge, misinterpret, misrelate, misrepresent, misstate, pervert, slant, twist, warp

Related Words misdescribe, misspeak, mistranslate; belie, camouflage, disguise, dissemble, gloss (over), mask, veil, whitewash; bowdlerize, censor; complicate, confound, confuse, mistake, mix (up); mystify, obscure; equivocate, fib, lie, palter, prevaricate

Near Antonyms clarify, clear (up), explain, illuminate, illustrate, interpret, spell out; decipher

2

to follow a circular or spiral course <the path gently twisted down the hill>

Synonyms coil, corkscrew, curl, entwine, spiral, twine, twist

Related Words arc, arch, bend, crook, curve, hook, sweep, swerve, turn, veer, wheel; swirl, whirl; circle, encircle, loop; enlace, interlace, intertwine, lace; bow, bulge; meander, weave, zigzag

Near Antonyms straighten

3

to move (something) in a curved or circular path on or as if on an axis <twisted my wrist around to stretch it>

Synonyms pivot, revolve, roll, rotate, spin, swing, swirl, swivel, twirl, twist, wheel, whirl

Related Words screw, unscrew; twiddle; coil, crank, reel, wind; circulate

4

to move by or as if by a forceful rotation <kept twisting the cap until it came free>

Synonyms twist, wrest, wring

Related Words draw, dredge (up), extract, jerk, lug, pluck, pull, tug, tweak, yank; jimmy, lever, pry; budge, dislocate, displace, disturb, remove; shift, transfer, transpose

5

to make jerky or restless movements <the dental patient twisted nervously in the chair>

Synonyms fiddle, jerk, jig, jiggle, squiggle, squirm, thrash, thresh, toss, twist, twitch, wiggle, wriggle, writhe

Related Words flit, flutter, twitter; quake, quiver, shake, shiver, shudder, tremble; pace

Near Antonyms relax, rest, unwind; calm (down), still

6

to cause to twine about one another <has the habit of idly twisting the strands of her hair while daydreaming>

Synonyms enlace, entwine, implicate [archaic], interlace, intertwist, interweave, inweave, lace, ply, twist, weave, wreathe, writhe

Related Words braid, plait, plat, pleach; blend, fuse, join, link, mix

Near Antonyms disentangle, uncoil, untangle, untwine, unwind