distorted

UK: /dɪˈstɔː^rtɪd/ US: (di stôr′tid)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

dis•tort•ed  (di stôr′tid), adj. 

1. not truly or completely representing the facts or reality;
   misrepresented;
   false:
   She has a distorted view of life.
2. twisted;
   deformed;
   misshapen.
3. mentally or morally twisted, as with an aberration or bias:
   He has a distorted sense of values.

• distort + -ed² 1625–35

dis•tort′ed•ly, adv. 
dis•tort′ed•ness, n. 

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

dis•tort /dɪˈstɔrt/   v. [~ + object]

1. to twist out of shape:
   Pain had distorted his face.
2. to give a false meaning to;
   misrepresent:
   That journalist distorted the candidate's remarks.
3. Electronics to reproduce or amplify (an electronic signal) inaccurately:
   His voice over the loudspeaker was distorted.

See -tort-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

dis•tort  (di stôrt′), v.t. 

1. to twist awry or out of shape;
   make crooked or deformed:
   Arthritis had distorted his fingers.
2. to give a false, perverted, or disproportionate meaning to;
   misrepresent:
   to distort the facts.
3. Electronics to reproduce or amplify (a signal) inaccurately by changing the frequencies or unequally changing the delay or amplitude of the components of the output wave.

• Latin distortus (past participle of distorquēre to distort), equivalent. to dis- dis-¹ + tor(qu)- (stem of torquēre to twist) + -tus past participle suffix
• 1580–90

dis•tort′er, n. 
dis•tor′tive, adj. 
Synonyms

• 2. pervert, misconstrue, twist, falsify, misstate. See misrepresent. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

distort / dɪˈstɔːt/ verb (transitive)

1. (often passive) to twist or pull out of shape; make bent or misshapen; contort; deform
2. to alter or misrepresent (facts, motives, etc)
3. to reproduce or amplify (a signal) inaccurately, changing the shape of the waveform

Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin distortus misshapen, from distorquēre to turn different ways, from dis-¹ + torquēre to twist

disˈtorted adjective