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.
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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
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A part of Emily Doe's statement that resonated with her My sister picked me up, face wet from tears and contorted in anguish.
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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.
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But cats are always jumping on and off high places and contorting their bodies into weird positions.
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That is not the case with print media that can contort, take out of context or cherry-pick my responses to fit the writer’s narrative.
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When Flacco's pass finally arrived in the back of the end zone, Perriman contorted his body to make the catch over Price and then tapped his two feet inbounds as a referee signaled a touchdown.
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Organs contort, drums pulse, and the guitar plays duck-duck-goose while Quasi exacts its revenge on all things bourgeois.
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
First Known Use: 15th century
Synonym Discussion of contort
CONTORT Defined for English Language Learners
contort
playDefinition of contort for English Language Learners
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: to twist into an unusual appearance or shape
CONTORT Defined for Kids
contort
playDefinition 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.
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See words that rhyme with contort Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for contort Spanish Central: Translation of contort Nglish: Translation of contort for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of contort for Arabic speakers
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