DISTORTED Synonyms: 97 Similar and Opposite Words

distorted 1 of 2

adjective

di-ˈstȯr-təd

Definition of distorted

as in monstrous

badly or imperfectly formed surgery to correct a distorted foot

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

distorted

2 of 2

verb

past tense of distort

as in misrepresented

to change so much as to create a wrong impression or alter the meaning of the coach's message was so distorted after passing through so many people that it was unintelligible

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in deformed

to twist (something) out of a natural or normal shape or condition if you keep distorting your face like that, someday it's going to freeze in that position

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of distorted

Adjective

The shoegaze sound keeps evolving, as young artists keep hearing themselves in those mega-distorted waves of guitar fuzz. — Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2026 Hanlen acknowledged the political attention Cunningham has attracted and suggested the public often receives a distorted impression of her. — Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 11 Sep. 2026

Verb

Raman has said since then that an Instagram influencer edited her remarks in a way that distorted her message. — Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026 Some online commenters who saw the performance in real time during the Head Trip livestream noted what seemed to be sound issues during the performance’s first 30 minutes, with some saying the sound seemed clipped and distorted. — Katie Bain, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for distorted

Recent Examples of Synonyms for distorted

Adjective

But when the voice on the phone takes a dark turn, Maeve keeps listening, pulling her family further into a monstrous secret.

— Jack Dunn, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
Publicly sharing Hasan’s death is unlikely to deter future acts of monstrous aggression, as Hegseth claims.

— Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of monstrous

Verb

The men have denied wrongdoing, saying that the encounters were consensual or misrepresented in the suit, according to The New York Times.

— Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 11 Oct. 2026
Fielder becomes obsessed with this detail, seeing it as a test case for Holmes’s claims that she has been misrepresented in the media and that her memory is reliable.

— Richard Brody, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of misrepresented

Verb

On a map, Newfoundland is a vast, asymmetrical island, cloven by bays and inlets, semi-detached to appendages of land deformed by ancient glaciers scraping over it, leaving glacial striations, grooves and gouges on its granite face.

— Paul Theroux, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026
In other words, two objects are considered topologically identical if they can be deformed into one another without tearing holes in them or gluing them together at any point.

— Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of deformed

Adjective

Shoppers who believe that food appearance is important tend to judge misshapen produce as lower quality.

— Jintao Zhang, The Conversation, 13 Oct. 2026
If the cookies have overspread or are misshapen, use a spoon to push the cookie edge toward the center to finesse their shape.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of misshapen

Verb

Unlike streaming metrics, which can be twisted and touted in any which way, box office dollars are uniformly reported — meaning there’s no denying a hit (or a miss).

— Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 18 Oct. 2026
It’s designed to be ergonomic, able to be held and twisted in myriad ways depending on what’s most comfortable for the user.

— Alaina Chou, Bon Appetit Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of twisted

Verb

Lazzarini’s nine artworks on display, curated by John Ravenal, are convoluted and contorted, distorted into impossible shapes that challenge perception.

— Kim Córdova, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026
But somehow, Chase contorted his body, located the ball, snagged it out of the air, and kept both feet in the end zone for one of the best touchdown grabs of the season thus far.

— Scott Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of contorted

Adjective

These sequences are no less contrived than the rest of this malformed blockbuster, but their growing emphasis on performativeness helps to paint a target that Iñárritu actually knows how to hit.

— David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 29 Sep. 2026
When his insidious nature is revealed, the change in tone and his face gone malformed, the scene feels dynamic in a way that doesn’t require gore or intricate special effects.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of malformed

Verb

Hundreds of thousands of women were tried, tortured, and executed for witchcraft in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
According to Bilal and his brother Judy, neither Ahmed nor anyone else in his family had ever been arrested or tortured by the regime.

— Ben Taub, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of tortured

Browse Nearby Words

distort

distorted

distorter

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Distorted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distorted. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of distorted

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

compunction

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes