contort

play

verb con·tort \kən-ˈtȯrt\

Definition of contort

transitive verb
: to twist in a violent manner features contorted with fury
intransitive verb
: to twist into or as if into a strained shape or expression His face contorted in a grimace of pain.

contortion

play \kən-ˈtȯr-shən\ noun

contortive

play \kən-ˈtȯr-tiv\ adjective

See contort defined for English-language learners

See contort defined for kids

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 of contort from the Web

Mach inhabits his character with great physicality, giving the illusion of Quasimodo’s deformity by contorting his own body — and with a little help from Bromelmeier’s jacket with hump.

— dana oland, idahostatesman, "Five reasons not to miss ISF’s ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’", 2 July 2017
Cesar Ruiz, the young Michigan center who enrolled in January, will be walking down the street and his body suddenly will contort, like a jolt of happiness has sparked through his massive frame.

— jeff seidel, Detroit Free Press, "Cesar Ruiz may have all the right moves to be best center in Michigan history", 26 June 2017
Simon toys with his phrasing on these tracks, but unlike Bob Dylan, who contorts his sentence structures into bizarre and unique art for jest, the singer just seems unenthused about revisiting these particular roots.

— janine schaults, chicagotribune.com, "Paul Simon made joy abundant at Northerly Island", 15 June 2017
Linebacker Nate Stupar contorted his body on a Grayson pass across the middle to make a juggling interception near the end zone.

— larry holder, NOLA.com, "Trial by fire for Saints rookie Marshon Lattimore; 6 takeaways from minicamp Thursday", 15 June 2017
After leafing through binders for about 20 minutes, the woman looked at a photo and her features contorted into a terrified expression, Fitzgerald said.

— clifford ward, chicagotribune.com, "Trial begins for man accused of sexually assaulting Lisle woman in 1999", 6 June 2017
A part of Emily Doe's statement that resonated with her My sister picked me up, face wet from tears and contorted in anguish.

— alia e. dastagir, USA TODAY, "Emily Doe's letter to Brock Turner: 1 year later, 5 survivors speak out on the letter that inspired millions", 2 June 2017
Suggesting that the speech justified Churchill’s abundant flaws, the film contorts itself into a biopic of yet another Great Man.

— alan zilberman, The Denver Post, "“Churchill” drags, as both history and entertainment", 2 June 2017
With instructions from fitness coach Mateus Manoel, Dwyer cycled through a series of tasks to test his left knee, planting off the leg before contorting his body in a range of motions.

— sam mcdowell, kansascity, "Sporting Kansas City injury report: Dom Dwyer, Diego Rubio, Kevin Ellis", 31 May 2017

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.

Did You Know?

Circus contortionists are known for twisting their bodies into pretzels; such contortions tend to be easier for females than for males, and much easier for the young than for the old. When trying to say something uncomfortable or dishonest, people often go through verbal contortions. But when someone else "twists" something you said or did, we usually say instead that they've distorted it.

Origin and Etymology of contort

Middle English, from Latin contortus, past participle of contorquēre, from com- + torquēre to twist — more at ¹torture

NEW!

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

Synonym Discussion of 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

CONTORT Defined for English Language Learners

contort

play

verb

Definition of contort for English Language Learners

: to twist into an unusual appearance or shape

CONTORT Defined for Kids

contort

play

verb con·tort \kən-ˈtȯrt\

Definition of contort for Students

contorted

;

contorting

: to give an unusual appearance or unnatural shape to by twisting His face contorted with anger.

Word Root of contort

The Latin word torquēre, meaning “to twist,” and its form tortus give us the root tort. Words from the Latin torquēre have something to do with twisting. A retort, or angry reply to another's words, twists those words back at the person. To contort is to twist the body in unusual ways. To distort is to twist something, such as the truth, so much that it appears to be something else.