as in to distort
to twist (something) out of a natural or normal shape or condition
the acrobat is able to contort his body so that it almost looks like a pretzel
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of contort
Yet part of the force of it is that Michôd has not contorted Christy Martin’s life into some false arc; what was going on beneath her triumph is portrayed with a desperate and idiosyncratic honesty.
—
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 6 Sep. 2025
Both boys and girls should have the freedom to experience childhood free from the pressures of contorting their growing bodies into narrow definitions of beauty or feeling the inevitable resentment and pain that comes from trying to achieve these impossible standards.
—Ashleigh N. Deluca, Parents, 4 Sep. 2025
The media environment, across genres, has been contorting rapidly for over a decade, as creators of myriad forms of content compete for shrinking attention spans in an increasingly crowded market.
—Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2025
Stewart contorts his face with a look of disbelief when asked if Montgomery has stayed on him.
—Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contort
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 6 Sep. 2025
Both boys and girls should have the freedom to experience childhood free from the pressures of contorting their growing bodies into narrow definitions of beauty or feeling the inevitable resentment and pain that comes from trying to achieve these impossible standards.
—Ashleigh N. Deluca, Parents, 4 Sep. 2025
The media environment, across genres, has been contorting rapidly for over a decade, as creators of myriad forms of content compete for shrinking attention spans in an increasingly crowded market.
—Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2025
Stewart contorts his face with a look of disbelief when asked if Montgomery has stayed on him.
—Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contort
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contort
Verb
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The impermanence of our digital footprint, especially in this age of AI scraping and incomplete catalog streaming, is distorting our story.—
Rodney Carmichael,
NPR,
1 Oct. 2025
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Some slot right in; others distort and cramp.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Yield strength describes the point at which a material permanently deforms under stress, marking the boundary between elastic flexibility and structural failure – crucial for engineers designing load-bearing structures.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Sep. 2025
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Both of the Yunxian skulls were deformed from millennia spent underground, but the second, known as Yunxian 2, was better preserved.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Contort.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contort. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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