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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The erosion triggered an additional breach and deformation of the pipe and damaged the access road to the powerhouse, cutting off land access, Yuba Water and FERC officials said.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
20 Feb. 2026
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The engineers then continuously tracked the slabs’ deformations.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Luci4 is credited as a pioneer in the sigilkore music genre, which uses heavy distortion and sometimes references the occult.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
23 Feb. 2026
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Often employing caricature, distortion and symbolism to communicate anxiety and resistance, his works are personal and political, offering a critique of the systems that oppress people of color.—
Evan Nicole Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Court documents reveal extensive injuries including ligature marks, burn marks, broken bones and deformity sustained before Crystal Marie Falcon’s death on February 13.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2026
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Ancient mosaics have been restored into laughable deformities of their previous selves.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contortion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contortion. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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