Definition
To distort is to twist a thing while leaving it recognizable — the Latin distorquere means 'to twist apart'. Heat distorts metal and cheap lenses distort faces; statistics, memories, and markets distort more quietly. The danger lives in the resemblance: a distorted account is not a fabricated one, it is the truth bent — same elements, wrong proportions — which is why a subtle distortion deceives people that an outright lie could never reach.
Examples
- The cheap lens distorted everything near the edge of the frame.
- The documentary was accused of distorting the scientist's actual findings.
- Heavy subsidies distort competition, and the imbalance tends to persist long after the subsidies end.
Collocations
distort the facts·distort the truth·distort competition·a distorted image·grossly distorted
Synonyms
warp·twist·misrepresent·skew·deform
Antonyms
represent faithfully·clarify
Word family
distortion (noun)·distorted (adjective)
In TOEFL & IELTS
Triple-duty in the exams: TOEFL physics passages use literal distortion (waves, lenses), psychology passages use memory distortion, and economics texts lean on 'distort the market/competition' — a collocation worth lifting whole. For IELTS media essays, 'the media can distort reality' is a serviceable thesis; the noun 'distortion' appears just as often as the verb.