contort

English

Etymology

Equivalent to con- + -tort; from Middle English, borrowed from Latin contortus, past participle of contorqueō, from com- + torqueō (“twist, turn”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kənˈtɔː(ɹ)t/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)t

Verb

contort (third-person singular simple present contorts, present participle contorting, simple past and past participle contorted)

1. (transitive) To twist in a violent manner.

   features contorted with fury

2. (intransitive) To twist into or as if into a strained shape or expression.

Synonyms

• deform
• detort
• twist

Derived terms

• contorter
• contortion
• contortionist
• contortive

Translations

to twist in a violent manner

Bulgarian: изкривявам (bg) (izkrivjavam) Czech: zkroutit pf Dutch: verwringen (nl) French: se contorsionner (fr) Maori: whakapī (referring to making faces) Norwegian: Bokmål: forvri Ottoman Turkish: بوكمك (bükmek) Portuguese: contorcer (pt) Russian: деформировать (ru) (deformirovatʹ), скручивать (ru) (skručivatʹ), изгиба́ть (ru) (izgibátʹ) Swedish: förvrida (sv) Walloon: si ctråyner (wa)

to twist into or as if into a strained shape or expression

Bulgarian: изкривявам (bg) (izkrivjavam) Czech: zkřivit se pf, zkroutit se pf Dutch: verwrongen of ontzet raken German: verzerren (de) Maori: whakakōiro, whakapī (of the features of the body) Portuguese: contorcer-se Russian: искривля́ть (ru) (iskrivljátʹ), искажа́ть (ru) (iskažátʹ) Spanish: contorsionar (es)

Anagrams

• Norcott

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin contortus, past participle of contorqueō (“I turn”).

Adjective

contort (feminine contorta, masculine plural contorts, feminine plural contortes)

1. (botany) twisted

   Synonym: retort

2. (anatomy) convoluted

Related terms

• contòrcer-se

Further reading

• “contort”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025