Definition of CONTORT

Choose the Right Synonym for contort

deform, distort, contort, warp means to mar or spoil by or as if by twisting. deform may imply a change of shape through stress, injury, or accident of growth. a face deformed by hatred distort and contort both imply a wrenching from the natural or normal, but contort suggests a more involved twisting and a more grotesque and painful result. the odd camera angle distorts the figure disease had contorted her body warp indicates an uneven shrinking that bends or twists out of a flat plane. warped floorboards

Examples of contort in a Sentence

His body contorted with pain. The boy contorted his body to squeeze through the gate. Her face was contorted with rage.

Recent Examples on the Web

Or, to contort those words ever so slightly for more modern moviegoing sensibilities, the story is the thing. — Mike Scott, nola.com, "‘All Is True’ movie review: The year’s first real Oscar threat?," 7 June 2019 James Comey twisted the facts, contorted the law to clear her. — Fox News, "Mueller investigation criticized as being 'one-sided'," 24 Aug. 2018 The White House is contorting itself in bizarre ways to avoid acting on climate change The National Climate Assessment joins a long history of climate science at the White House. — Umair Irfan, Vox, "The National Climate Assessment shows that the costs of doing nothing on climate change are immense.," 26 Nov. 2018 The movie focuses on an 11-year-old boy and his unlikely correspondence with a closeted actor that is contorted into scandal. — Dan Bilefsky, New York Times, "He Wanted to Escape His Childhood. Now, It Fuels His Art.," 27 Apr. 2018 Kyoto University teamed up with the University of Electro-Communications in Japan to build a robot snake that can contort its body repeatedly in order to reach the top of a ladder. — Shannon Liao, The Verge, "A new snakebot proves that climbing ladders won’t save you from killer robots," 15 Oct. 2018 People who have long been marginalized and othered for having curves no longer feel the need to contort themselves to fit in. — Shammara Lawrence, Teen Vogue, "9 Size-Inclusive Lingerie Brands to Support Instead of Victoria's Secret," 14 Nov. 2018 As guests trickled in, several power femmes were staged about the space, dancing and contorting, possessed by an otherworldly rhythm. — Steff Yotka, Vogue, "At Savage X Fenty’s Runway Show, All Women Are Goddesses," 13 Sep. 2018 There’s a cameraman stationed in every corner of the small white tent functioning as Wilson’s dressing room, each awkwardly contorting his body to get a wide enough angle in the compact space. — Olivia Horn, Vogue, "At Afropunk, H.E.R. Rules the Stage with Sunglasses, Space Buns, and a Feminist Message," 27 Aug. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'contort.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.