Synonyms

contort

American

[kuhn-tawrt] / kənˈtɔrt /

verb (used with object)

to twist, bend, or draw out of shape; distort.

verb (used without object)

to become twisted, distorted, or strained.

His face contorted into a grotesque sneer.

contort British

/ kənˈtɔːt /

verb

to twist or bend severely out of place or shape, esp in a strained manner

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

contortive adjective

Etymology

Origin of contort

1555–65; < Latin contortus twisted together, past participle of contorquēre. See con-, tort

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Davidson would have to be carried by her teammates and coaches to the bench, where her face contorted in pain as trainers examined her.

From Los Angeles Times

The other kids stood by in shock, their faces contorted into masks of dismay and disbelief.

From Literature

This is a book of endless storytelling, as characters contort themselves to please the regime’s shifting narratives.

From The Wall Street Journal

He tried to set his expression into “bravery in the grip of terrible adversity” but it was difficult with the wind contorting his face as if he were in a free fall without a parachute.

From Literature

A figure was walking swiftly past a top-floor window, and its face was contorted with anger.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023