as in deformation
the twisting of something out of its natural or normal shape or condition
the comedian is renowned for his seemingly endless variety of facial contortions
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Recent Examples of contortion
Perhaps Gartside chose music as his medium for working out his relentless questions because of its power to sidestep the analytical mind’s reflexive contortions and speak directly to the heart.
—
Andy Cush, Pitchfork, 15 Feb. 2026
Recently, Boston Dynamics explained Atlas’s uncanny ground-recovery move, revealing why the humanoid rises with contortions rather than standing upright.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 9 Feb. 2026
And this is not to shame the act of contortion.
—Caroline Rothstein, InStyle, 30 Dec. 2025
The bodies had signs of binding the hands and feet, contortion of limbs, cut off fingertips and disfigured heads, according to Kaki.
—ABC News, 31 Oct. 2025
The oil made her body slippery, allowing rescuers to pull her out of the passageway by working in reverse and undoing all the contortions that trapped her.
—Mark Gray, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
The incidents highlight the contortions of the Taliban four years after seizing power of Afghanistan.
—NPR, 14 Oct. 2025
DiCaprio actually is quite funny early on in the film, but his performance loses steam in the back half, as his broad gestures and facial contortions can’t quite match the grim subtlety of Scorsese’s direction of the later scenes.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2025
Andy Cush, Pitchfork, 15 Feb. 2026
Recently, Boston Dynamics explained Atlas’s uncanny ground-recovery move, revealing why the humanoid rises with contortions rather than standing upright.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 9 Feb. 2026
And this is not to shame the act of contortion.
—Caroline Rothstein, InStyle, 30 Dec. 2025
The bodies had signs of binding the hands and feet, contortion of limbs, cut off fingertips and disfigured heads, according to Kaki.
—ABC News, 31 Oct. 2025
The oil made her body slippery, allowing rescuers to pull her out of the passageway by working in reverse and undoing all the contortions that trapped her.
—Mark Gray, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
The incidents highlight the contortions of the Taliban four years after seizing power of Afghanistan.
—NPR, 14 Oct. 2025
DiCaprio actually is quite funny early on in the film, but his performance loses steam in the back half, as his broad gestures and facial contortions can’t quite match the grim subtlety of Scorsese’s direction of the later scenes.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contortion
Noun
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Additionally, the screen uses auto-smoothing flex glass, which is resistant to deformation and better able to recover its original shape.—
Eric Zeman,
PC Magazine,
17 Mar. 2026
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Next, the team wants to use digital reconstruction methods to correct deformation on other parts of the skull, such as the braincase, to reveal insights about the brain size of Little Foot — and potentially unlock clues about the cognitive abilities of our early human ancestors.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
7 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The first AirPods Max was lauded for its great sound with the company's in-house 40-mm driver designed for exceptionally low harmonic distortion.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
17 Mar. 2026
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Disfavored, false speech still protected by First Amendment In both his X post and elsewhere, including a Senate committee hearing in December, Carr invoked policies related to news distortion and public interest standards that FCC licensees are required to follow.—
BrieAnna J. Frank,
USA Today,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In December 2023, the FDA issued a warning about the dangers of fat-dissolving injections after many reports of severe side effects, including permanent scars, serious infections, skin deformities, cysts, and deep, painful knots.—
Cindy Krischer Goodman,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Mar. 2026
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Investigators documented animals with health concerns including overgrown hooves, draining abscesses and limb deformities.—
Nicole Blanchard,
Idaho Statesman,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contortion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contortion. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
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