contorts

present tense third-person singular of contort
as in distorts
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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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 contorts Monk’s music contorts into an ecstatic dance, one more befitting of a ritual trance state than a night at the Five Spot. — Levi Dayan, Pitchfork, 11 May 2026 Bridges contorts his body, and jacks up an errant layup, but the play isn’t done there. — Fred Katz, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026 As a magnetar spins on its axis at nearly the speed of light, its immense magnetic field contorts, coils and twists to pump out powerful radiation. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 11 Mar. 2026 At this point, you’d be forgiven for expecting a straightforward werewolf story, but Cassidy’s novel stretches and contorts into something far stranger, more audacious, and ultimately, both heartbreaking and triumphant. — Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025 With an almost modern-day Charlie Chaplin-esque physicality, Moss dances, contorts, and frolics amongst the shoes, their boxes, and fixtures in the store for a mesmerizing, can't-look-away effect. — Roxanne Robinson, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contorts
Verb
  • The importance of his work, the difficulty of it—the Hollywood reverence almost distorts it.
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2026
  • But this perception completely distorts what most Palestinians believe and are prepared to accept.
    — Michael Robbins, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • When pressure deforms the glass, its birefringence changes, which measurably shifts that interference pattern.
    — Pawel Maniewski, New Atlas, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Working on his audio venture makes Jacob more narcissistic and less socially competent; the podcast deforms his understanding of what friends are for.
    — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 13 July 2026
Verb
  • At first, all signs point to Bobby, including a mercenary who survived the attack on Halstead Manor that Eddie tortures to extract information.
    — Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2026
  • On his latest Hyperdub release, the Japanese producer born Takahide Higuchi sings more than on previous records but tortures his voice through a gauntlet of pitch-shifter effects.
    — Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 27 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Contorts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contorts. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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