contort

verb

con·​tort kən-ˈtȯrt 

contorted; contorting; contorts

transitive verb

: to twist in a violent manner

features contorted with fury

intransitive verb

: to twist into or as if into a strained shape or expression

His face contorted in a grimace of pain.

contortion

kən-ˈtȯr-shən 

noun

contortive

kən-ˈtȯr-tiv 

adjective

Did you know?

Circus contortionists are known for twisting their bodies into pretzels; such contortions tend to be easier for females than for males, and much easier for the young than for the old. When trying to say something uncomfortable or dishonest, people often go through verbal contortions. But when someone else "twists" something you said or did, we usually say instead that they've distorted it.

Synonyms

• deform
• distort
• misshape
• screw
• squinch
• torture
• warp

Choose the Right Synonym for contort

deform, distort, contort, warp means to mar or spoil by or as if by twisting.

deform may imply a change of shape through stress, injury, or accident of growth.

a face deformed by hatred

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

warp indicates an uneven shrinking that bends or twists out of a flat plane.

warped floorboards

Examples of contort in a Sentence

His body contorted with pain.

The boy contorted his body to squeeze through the gate.

Her face was contorted with rage.

Recent Examples on the Web

What led you to choose these lenses to contort bodies and reality? —Callum McLennan, Variety, 11 Sep. 2024

Right across the street from Dili’s parliament building sits the Timorese Residence and Archive Museum, whose harrowing displays include homespun weaponry, accounts of mass displacement, and a mannequin behind the bars of a squalid cell, face contorted in agony. —Charlie Campbell / Dili, Timor-Leste, TIME, 4 Sep. 2024

Other pastimes—from the World Series to presidential debates—have contorted themselves to avoid competing with pro pigskin, but multiple separate factors contributed to the WNBA’s scheduling decisions. —Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 20 Sep. 2024

Spielberg made a spectacle, a box-office hit, out of real Jewish trauma, creating a bank of obscene images (the cliché of a red-coated girl, prisoners soaked not with gas but water), the likes of which Israel has contorted and weaponized to justify acts of violence. —Carlos Valladares, ARTnews.com, 13 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin contortus, past participle of contorquēre, from com- + torquēre to twist — more at torture entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

contort

verb

con·​tort kən-ˈtȯ(ə)rt 

: to twist into an unusual appearance or unnatural shape