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distortion

/dɪˈstɔrʃɪn/

/dɪˈstɔʃən/

Other forms: distortions

A distortion is a change, twist, or exaggeration that makes something appear different from the way it really is. You can distort an image, a thought, or even an idea. To say that I never take out the garbage is a distortion of the facts.

The heat from the highway creates a distortion in the way objects in the distance appear: They wiggle and dance. The heat creates a wavy distortion in the air that shakes up the image of the things beyond it. Things are the way they are: to change them is to distort them or to create a distortion. Some guitar players prefer distortion: they plug their instrument into amps and pedals that twist and stretch the sound so much that you might not even recognize its source as a guitar.

Definitions of distortion
  1. noun
    a shape resulting from distortion
    synonyms: distorted shape
    see moresee less
    types:
    contortion, crookedness, torsion, tortuosity, tortuousness
    a tortuous and twisted shape or position
    buckle, warp
    a shape distorted by twisting or folding
    gnarl, knot
    something twisted and tight and swollen
    type of:
    form, shape
    the spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance
  2. noun
    the act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean
    synonyms: overrefinement, straining, torture, twisting
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    type of:
    falsification, misrepresentation
    a willful perversion of facts
  3. noun
    a change for the worse
    synonyms: deformation
    see moresee less
    types:
    warp, warping
    a moral or mental distortion
    type of:
    damage, harm, impairment
    the occurrence of a change for the worse
  4. noun
    an optical phenomenon resulting from the failure of a lens or mirror to produce a good image
    synonyms: aberration, optical aberration
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    types:
    chromatic aberration
    an optical aberration in which the image has colored fringes
    spherical aberration
    an optical aberration resulting in a distorted image
    type of:
    optical phenomenon
    a physical phenomenon related to or involving light
  5. noun
    a change (usually undesired) in the waveform of an acoustic or analog electrical signal; the difference between two measurements of a signal (as between the input and output signal)
    “heavy metal guitar players use vacuum tube amplifiers to produce extreme distortion
    see moresee less
    types:
    amplitude distortion, nonlinear distortion
    distortion that occurs when the output signal does not have a linear relation to the input signal
    type of:
    acoustic phenomenon
    a physical phenomenon associated with the production or transmission of sound
    electrical phenomenon
    a physical phenomenon involving electricity
  6. noun
    the mistake of misrepresenting the facts
    see moresee less
    type of:
    error, fault, mistake
    a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘distortion'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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