contorted 1 of 2

contorted

2 of 2

verb

past tense of contort
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of contorted
Adjective
As the Emcee, an eerie, contorted figure who represents the slow blackening of the city’s soul, Muscato picks up from a prestigious line of talent that includes Eddie Redmayne, Billy Porter and Matt Willis. Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2026 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
Years after Leontes, a king contorted by jealousy, has ordered that his wife, the blameless Hermione, be put to death, a curtain is drawn back to reveal what appears to be a statue of her. Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026 The hosting procedure for the 2030 and 2034 tournaments was contorted to prevent Saudi Arabia from facing opposition. Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 31 July 2026 Football fandom is contorted by the internet now to put out beauty and vibe and wonder. Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026 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 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contorted
Adjective
  • The most fateful night of my protagonist’s life—the night when her childhood best friend disappears on a black-sand beach—leaves her with a distorted recollection of what really happened.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Interior Ministry spokesman Rachid Khalfi blamed the surge on online misinformation, human-trafficking networks and distorted interpretations of Spanish legal and administrative developments, according to The Jerusalem Post.
    Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Many of the characters are deformed in some way, though Williams does not adopt the language of disability to describe their particular experiences.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 July 2026
  • By watching and analyzing how the soft fingers deformed, the AI could tell the difference between touching sand and touching the pen, estimate the pen’s location, and guide the gripper to lift it out.
    Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 20 July 2026
Adjective
  • In an interview with SiriusXM’s Page Six Radio on July 28, the mom of seven, 42, discussed her journey with decades of disordered eating, including dieting at a young age.
    Sara Moniuszko, USA Today, 29 July 2026
  • 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.
    Maia Niguel Hoskin, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Verb
  • Méndez curled a free kick from the right side that went untouched off the post and into the net in the 84th minute to tie it.
    ABC News, ABC News, 1 Aug. 2026
  • For an additional pop of color, Cardi wore her hair in an icy blue bob that was parted to the side and curled under at the ends.
    Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 27 July 2026
Verb
  • Lebson and Richards ⁠denied that ​allegation, saying that Robert Gilman was held in extremely harsh conditions, tortured and injected with mind-altering drugs by guards, treatment ​that led to his transfer to the civilian hospital.
    Reuters, NBC news, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Prior to Tae-ha’s arrival, Eun-sae was tortured by Sang-gil and his men.
    Kayti Burt, Time, 7 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Contorted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contorted. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

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