Distorting

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Causing an object or image to alter in shape, appearance, or sound so it no longer looks or sounds natural
2. Leading to a change in the original form or structure, resulting in a twisted or misleading version
3. Producing a modification that makes something appear or sound different from its true or normal state

Etymology: The root is Latin "torquere," meaning "to twist," and the prefix "dis-" adds the sense of twisting something apart or out of its proper shape. Its past participle, "distortus," gave English the verb, so the word literally describes something wrenched out of true. The same root sits behind several words you may not connect with it. "Torque" is a twisting force, "torsion" is the state of being twisted, and "torture" comes from the same stem through the idea of wrenching a body. "Tort," the legal term for a wrong that harms someone, comes from the Latin "tortum," "twisted," so a civil wrong was once imagined as a twisting away from what is right.

Synonyms: twisting, warping, altering

Antonyms: clarifying, straightening