as in distorted
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as in deformed
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of contorted
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
26 June 2026
The more contorted, the more supported.
—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
26 June 2026
The contorted, impossible plot isn’t the point, but its breakneck speed is.
—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
12 June 2026
The 39-year-old artist was finally gaining recognition abroad for his contorted, geometric sculptures made of thousands of hand-cut mirror shards reaching as high as 27 feet.
—
Devorah Lauter,
ARTnews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Last week, Boston Dynamics explained Atlas’s ground recovery, revealing why the humanoid rises with contorted movements rather than standing like a human.
—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
18 Dec. 2025
Then there are a couple of realistic sculptures by Swedish artist Anna Uddenberg that feature a woman seated on a basic office chair in contorted positions that seem to emphasize her feminine parts.
—
Jane Wooldridge,
Miami Herald,
3 Dec. 2025
Three-inch gashes had been ripped from both corners of her mouth nearly to the ears, forming a contorted, twisted smile.
—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Sep. 2025
Fiction Non Fiction,
Literary Hub,
25 June 2026
Starting with a tone-setting marvel early, Room contorted and unfurled himself to 15 saves — including several other stupefying ones.
—
Kansas City Star,
21 June 2026
Search the internet and there are coaches and players spotted sniffing the ammonia inhalants before a game, with their instant reactions — a noticeable head jerk or contorted face — going viral.
—
Jason Jones,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
In these photographs, Export contorted her body in various ways, creating striking images of her body defying the expected.
—
Maximilíano Durón,
ARTnews.com,
14 May 2026
Aether enthusiasts contorted themselves in knots attempting to explain this null result while still saving the notion of the aether itself.
—
Big Think,
7 May 2026
Egon Schiele’s show at the Neue Galerie suggests that the artist’s raw, contorted depictions of the body were influenced by a formative relationship with a doctor.
—
Hannah Jocelyn,
New Yorker,
19 Mar. 2026
For the entire 15-minute show, they’ve been contorted into pieces of furniture Lawson fabricated, pieces befitting something between an asylum and BDSM dungeon, and reminiscent of Allen Jones’s 1960s Pop sculpture series, which depicts fiberglass women in fetishware as home objects.
—
Anna Peele,
Vanity Fair,
6 Feb. 2026
In 2025, there was the Owl Arm Trend, in which Gen Z TikTokers contorted their bodies (and stretched their T-shirts) to mimic the shape of a perching owl, clinging to their friend’s arm.
—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
Barr has resolved the dilemma by writing a contorted endorsement of Blanche in The Wall Street Journal.
—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
26 June 2026
The more contorted, the more supported.
—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
26 June 2026
The contorted, impossible plot isn’t the point, but its breakneck speed is.
—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
12 June 2026
The 39-year-old artist was finally gaining recognition abroad for his contorted, geometric sculptures made of thousands of hand-cut mirror shards reaching as high as 27 feet.
—
Devorah Lauter,
ARTnews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Last week, Boston Dynamics explained Atlas’s ground recovery, revealing why the humanoid rises with contorted movements rather than standing like a human.
—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
18 Dec. 2025
Then there are a couple of realistic sculptures by Swedish artist Anna Uddenberg that feature a woman seated on a basic office chair in contorted positions that seem to emphasize her feminine parts.
—
Jane Wooldridge,
Miami Herald,
3 Dec. 2025
Three-inch gashes had been ripped from both corners of her mouth nearly to the ears, forming a contorted, twisted smile.
—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
But then, at some point, the term got contorted to actually refer to people who were using sabotage or vandalism in defense of the environment.
—
Fiction Non Fiction,
Literary Hub,
25 June 2026
Starting with a tone-setting marvel early, Room contorted and unfurled himself to 15 saves — including several other stupefying ones.
—
Kansas City Star,
21 June 2026
Search the internet and there are coaches and players spotted sniffing the ammonia inhalants before a game, with their instant reactions — a noticeable head jerk or contorted face — going viral.
—
Jason Jones,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
In these photographs, Export contorted her body in various ways, creating striking images of her body defying the expected.
—
Maximilíano Durón,
ARTnews.com,
14 May 2026
Aether enthusiasts contorted themselves in knots attempting to explain this null result while still saving the notion of the aether itself.
—
Big Think,
7 May 2026
Egon Schiele’s show at the Neue Galerie suggests that the artist’s raw, contorted depictions of the body were influenced by a formative relationship with a doctor.
—
Hannah Jocelyn,
New Yorker,
19 Mar. 2026
For the entire 15-minute show, they’ve been contorted into pieces of furniture Lawson fabricated, pieces befitting something between an asylum and BDSM dungeon, and reminiscent of Allen Jones’s 1960s Pop sculpture series, which depicts fiberglass women in fetishware as home objects.
—
Anna Peele,
Vanity Fair,
6 Feb. 2026
In 2025, there was the Owl Arm Trend, in which Gen Z TikTokers contorted their bodies (and stretched their T-shirts) to mimic the shape of a perching owl, clinging to their friend’s arm.
—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contorted
Adjective
-
In many cases, Kallis said, the roots of this behavior were planted long before, frequently through trauma, abuse, isolation, addiction or distorted coping mechanisms that were never confronted or healed.
-
Letting go of these items leads to regret for the loss of nostalgia and passing on true history for a distorted version.
Verb
-
Some cells were mechanically deformed to simulate incidents such as minor parking impacts.
-
Habermas was well aware of how the internet had deformed his beloved public sphere.
Adjective
-
Studies have found that Black college women, as a group, report greater body satisfaction and lower rates of disordered eating than white women of comparable weight.
-
Research shows that such bodily scrutiny is already damaging transgender youth and that bodily shame can significantly affect young people’s mental health, leading to disordered eating and other physical and psychological harm.
Verb
-
After long periods in their own half to start the match, Norway broke the deadlock with a strike from Antonio Nusa that curled into the far corner.
-
That translated to a trail of smoke curled around notes of salt, neroli, ginger lily, and citrus.
Verb
-
Walker was abducted, raped, tortured and murdered after attending a Valentine’s Day dance with her boyfriend.
-
The actual abduction was committed, according to the feds, by supermarket owner Abu Chowdhury — who’s accused of heading a kidnapping ring that also snatched and tortured two men who crossed his vengeful wife, Iffat Lubna.
Cite this Entry
“Contorted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contorted. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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