distort

views updated Jun 11 2018

dis·tort / disˈtôrt/ • v. [tr.] pull or twist out of shape: a grimace distorted her fine mouth | [as adj.] (distorted) his face was distorted with rage. ∎  [intr.] become twisted out of shape: the pipe will distort as you bend it. ∎ fig. give a misleading or false account or impression of: many factors can distort the results | [as adj.] (distorted) his report gives a distorted view of the meeting. ∎  change the form of (an electrical signal or sound wave) during transmission, amplification, or other processing: you're distorting the sound by overdriving the amp.DERIVATIVES: dis·tort·ed·ly adv.dis·tort·ed·ness n.dis·tor·tion / -ˈtôrshən/ n.dis·tor·tion·al / -ˈtôrshənl/ adj.dis·tor·tion·less / -ˈtôrshənləs/ adj.

distort

views updated May 11 2018

distort XVI. f. distort-, pp. stem of L. distorquēre. f. DIS- 1 + torquēre twist.
So distortion XVI. — L. distract draw away or in different directions. XIV. f. distract-, pp. stem of L. distrahere, f. DIS- 1 + trahere draw, drag. So distraction XV. — L.