warped

adjective

ˈwȯrpt 

1

: twisted out of a natural or normal shape

a warped board

Before polishing began, warped panels were straightened and stripes of new wood added to compensate for shrinkage …

—Helen Dudar

He was told he had a warped cornea due to surgery that had been performed years before.

—B. J. Pollock

2

a

: eccentrically weird or strange

a warped sense of humor

b

: disturbingly abnormal or distorted

At his office one afternoon, he told me that he blames warped values for the drop in international-news coverage …

—Ken Auletta

Is it a country of great natural resources and human talent, caught in the grip of a warped dictator?

—Thomas L. Friedman

"He took an oath as a Klansman, and he has this really warped, romantic notion of a sacred vow he can never violate."

—John Grisham

Synonyms

• corrupt
• debased
• debauched
• decadent
• degenerate
• degraded
• demoralized
• depraved
• dissipated
• dissolute
• jackleg
• libertine
• loose
• perverse
• perverted
• rakehell
• rakehelly
• rakish
• reprobate
• sick
• unclean
• unwholesome

Examples of warped in a Sentence

tired of his sick jokes and warped sense of humor

Recent Examples on the Web

Part of what makes One Way Back such an unusual book is the simple fact that the warped afterlives of public survivors are so rarely depicted at all. —Seyward Darby, Longreads, 16 July 2024

If the album's warped keyboards and smoky background vocals reflect how haunted Staples sometimes feels, his storytelling is incisive, his delivery as coolly deadpan as ever. —Jason Lamphier, EW.com, 14 July 2024

The only thing to gripe about is the way it’s constructed so the vinyl stacks flat on top of each other, which may lead to warped LPs. —Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 12 July 2024

This policy stems from a narrow, shortsighted perspective and a warped brand of faith. —Washington Post, 27 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing warped

• time-warped