distorted
Other forms: distortedly
If you have ever looked at yourself in a funhouse mirror, you probably saw an image that was quite distorted. Okay, so maybe your hair looked kind of weird that day, but your whole body wasn’t really that misshapen.
This adjective is derived from the Latin verb distortus, which means “to twist different ways.” When something is distorted this can mean that it has been changed from the original form in any way. Someone can have a distorted worldview, or facts from an event can be distorted in the retelling. If a politician is misquoted in the newspaper, then it could be said that her opinion has been misrepresented or distorted by the media.
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so badly formed or out of shape as to be ugly“his poor distorted limbs”synonyms: deformed, ill-shapen, malformed, misshapenunshapelynot well-proportioned and pleasing in shape
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having an intended meaning altered or misrepresentedsynonyms: misrepresented, perverted, twisted
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Vocabulary lists containing distorted
Turn your attention to these words derived from the Latin root tor, meaning "to twist and turn" and "to distort."
Elie Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his lifetime struggle against indifference, which he sees as synonymous to the struggle for peace. As an author, philosopher, and humanist, Wiesel focuses on drawing attention to the crimes committed by the Nazis during World War II, in order to prevent such a holocaust from happening again. In accepting the prize on December 11, 1986, Wiesel gave a lecture titled "Hope, Despair and Memory" in which he shows, through a combination of biblical stories, history, and his own story, how those three perspectives must be balanced to remind each person that we have the power and duty to save ourselves, our neighbors, and humanity. E-text available here.
"In West Africa, an alleged slave-ship snafu reflects the trauma of an ongoing business of marketing children as forced labor." This is the subtitle from an April 30, 2001 Time article by Simon Robinson and Nancy Palus. Read this list to find out more about why this awful human trade is so difficult to stop.