as in distorting
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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Recent Examples of contorting
Outside that moment, everyone resumed contorting themselves to serve the Establishment in one way or another to survive.
—
Eddie Huang, Curbed, 9 Oct. 2025
The shoulder cut-out is designed for side sleepers, so there’s no pillow-bunching or spine-contorting in the process of getting comfortable.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 6 Oct. 2025
The precursor to his game-sealing catch Sunday night in New Jersey became appropriately lost in a pretty compelling tale, but his final three steps before a body-contorting catch are all backpedals, spinning nearly 180 degrees to make the grab.
—Kansas City Star, 25 Sep. 2025
That usually means contorting my limbs into weird, uncomfortable positions while trying to watch a movie on my phone.
—Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 21 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
In that dispute, four gun owners and a local hunting store accused lower courts of contorting the Supreme Court’s recent expansions on Second Amendment rights to uphold Rhode Island’s restrictions.
—Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 2 June 2025
Eddie Huang, Curbed, 9 Oct. 2025
The shoulder cut-out is designed for side sleepers, so there’s no pillow-bunching or spine-contorting in the process of getting comfortable.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 6 Oct. 2025
The precursor to his game-sealing catch Sunday night in New Jersey became appropriately lost in a pretty compelling tale, but his final three steps before a body-contorting catch are all backpedals, spinning nearly 180 degrees to make the grab.
—Kansas City Star, 25 Sep. 2025
That usually means contorting my limbs into weird, uncomfortable positions while trying to watch a movie on my phone.
—Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 21 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
In that dispute, four gun owners and a local hunting store accused lower courts of contorting the Supreme Court’s recent expansions on Second Amendment rights to uphold Rhode Island’s restrictions.
—Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 2 June 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contorting
Verb
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Over the summer, officials in Turkey — where the lawsuit says some of the allegedly fraudulent Drake streams originated — started investigating Spotify over several allegations, including bribes for playlist placement and bot streams distorting domestic charts.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
3 Nov. 2025
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Other factors may also be distorting reports of public support for political violence.—
Ryan Kennedy,
The Conversation,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The membrane bottleneck Most TFC membranes today can handle about 15-20 bar pressure before deforming.—
Tejasri Gururaj,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Dahbia Benkired was convicted of raping, torturing and killing Lola Daviet, according the BBC, BFMTV and The New York Times.—
Liam Quinn,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
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In another film with a less happy outcome, the woman who claims to be the amnesiac’s wife is an impostor who ends up torturing him.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Whatever the cause, Denton plays Guy as a mid-tier Vampire Diaries protagonist, never evincing a range beyond just sort of screwing his face up a bit when he’s supposed to be upset.—
Lily Osler,
Vulture,
27 Oct. 2025
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Each of the authors who spoke to Rolling Stone say Amazon has a clear responsibility to invest in more software and moderation that prevents AI scam books like these from screwing over readers and authors.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass wrote, directed and starred in this blood-curling 2014 film that follows a videographer who takes on a job for an eccentric client.—
Emy LaCroix,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
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Seasonal activities are planned according to guest request and include curling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and ice skating on nearby Lake Placid.—
Suzanne Wright,
USA Today,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Contorting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contorting. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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