DISTORTED

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does distorted mean? 

• DISTORTED (adjective)
  The adjective DISTORTED has 2 senses:

1. so badly formed or out of shape as to be ugly

2. having an intended meaning altered or misrepresented

  Familiarity information: DISTORTED used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DISTORTED (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

So badly formed or out of shape as to be ugly

Synonyms:

deformed; distorted; ill-shapen; malformed; misshapen

Context example:

misshapen old fingers

Similar:

unshapely (not well-proportioned and pleasing in shape)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Having an intended meaning altered or misrepresented

Synonyms:

distorted; misrepresented; perverted; twisted

Context example:

a perverted translation of the poem

Similar:

artful; disingenuous (not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness)

 Context examples 

Over him hung a form which I cannot find words to describe—gigantic in stature, yet uncouth and distorted in its proportions.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

“Your life for this!” said the bully, with a face which was distorted with rage.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His lips had become distorted into a permanent snarl, which at mere sight of Wolf Larsen broke out in sound, horrible and menacing and, I do believe, unconsciously.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

This created a geomagnetic disturbance, which distorted Earth’s magnetic field lines and induced an electric field on the surface.

(Space Weather Events Linked to Human Activity, NASA)

This was contrasted by parents who had a ‘distorted’ representation of their child, with a narrow, idealised description of their child, and incomplete or inconsistent descriptions of them.

(Mother’s attitude towards baby during pregnancy may have implications for child’s development, University of Cambridge)

The eruption, which temporarily cooled the planet, caused sea levels to drop and effectively distorted calculations of sea level rise in subsequent decades.

(Volcanic eruption masked acceleration in sea level rise, NSF)

His handsome face was distorted with a spasm of despair, and his hands tore at his hair.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

From the man's distorted body and twisted mind, in occult ways, like mists rising from malarial marshes, came emanations of the unhealth within.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

His face was all drawn and distorted—so much so that my question was frozen upon my lips.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

She recoiled from it, and, with a suddenly distorted face, full of rage, dashed past him as if to enter the tomb.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)