Synonym Chooser

How does the verb distort contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of distort are contort, deform, and warp. While all these words mean "to mar or spoil by or as if by twisting," distort and contort both imply a wrenching from the natural or normal, but contort suggests a more involved twisting and a more grotesque and painful result.

the odd camera angle distorts the figure
disease had contorted her body

In what contexts can deform take the place of distort?

Although the words deform and distort have much in common, deform may imply a change of shape through stress, injury, or accident of growth.

a face deformed by hatred

When is it sensible to use warp instead of distort?

In some situations, the words warp and distort are roughly equivalent. However, warp indicates an uneven shrinking that bends or twists out of a flat plane.

warped floorboards

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 distort Other factors may also be distorting reports of public support for political violence. Ryan Kennedy, The Conversation, 13 Oct. 2025 Peering into deep space, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has helped astronomers find places to study gravitational lensing, an effect in which massive objects such as galaxies warp space-time itself, bending and distorting the light of even more distant galaxies behind them. Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 10 Oct. 2025 Rising worries During the Milken Institute Asia Summit, other experts warned that retail inflows could distort pricing, erode returns and destabilize fund structures designed for long-term investments or patient capital. Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2025 Petrified faces tightly framed by the distorting lens of the camera. A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for distort
Recent Examples of Synonyms for distort
Verb
  • Ronshausen later said Andrade coerced her into giving him information and misrepresented Uthmeier’s involvement.
    Alexandra Glorioso, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2025
  • That means families and estates have no legal recourse when someone uses AI to humiliate or misrepresent their loved one.
    Kim Komando The Kim Komando Show, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The Sun’s magnetic field lines can be very twisted, and the solar wind and coronal mass ejections deform and drag them outward from the Sun.
    Samuel Badman, The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2025
  • In free fall, the sheet deforms into an upside-down bell when a weight is attached at its center.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Rogalski contorted his body and got a foot down in bounds to secure the interception at Mahtomedi’s 42 yard line.
    Andrew Cornelius, Twin Cities, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Unlike traditional rigid robots, the e-MG model can contort its limbs, twist its body, and even swing across surfaces.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The Broncos got screwed on an interference call that placed the ball on the 1-yard line.
    Troy Renck, Denver Post, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Gabriel has royally screwed the pooch.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • And behind the closed door, after the party is over, I am curled in a ball trying to will myself into normalcy again.
    Via Harvest Books, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
  • In the second half, a quick free kick from Roldan sprung Wright down the right channel, and Wright cut back into his left foot and curled the ball cleanly inside the far post.
    Paul Tenorio, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • That’s a surefire way to bend the brim and otherwise misshape it.
    Talia Ergas, Travel + Leisure, 27 June 2023
  • The misshapen hemoglobin misshape the cells.
    Jason Mast, STAT, 19 Dec. 2022
Verb
  • This is the most spectacular form of gravitational lensing in which the gravity of a foreground object — in this case a massive elliptical galaxy — is warping space.
    Keith Cooper, Space.com, 13 Oct. 2025
  • This can cause the wood to rot and warp.
    Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 11 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Distort.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distort. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on distort

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