Meaning & use
contortion
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Meanings
nouncountable
A movement or position in which the body is twisted into an unusual or unnatural shape.
Grammar: Countable: you can talk about a contortion or several contortions.
Patterns
- a contortion of the body
- do contortions
The dancer amazed the audience with a series of impossible contortions.
He pulled his face into a strange contortion to make the baby laugh.
Yoga can involve gentle contortions that stretch the spine.
nouncountable
A twisted or bent shape, especially one that looks unnatural or wrong.
Grammar: Often used with of: a contortion of the metal, a contortion of the truth.
Patterns
- a contortion of something
- in contortions
The car's frame was a contortion of metal after the crash.
The tree grew in a contortion that made it look like a giant hand.
The sculpture was a contortion of wire and glass.
noununcountablefigurative
The act of changing words or facts in a way that is not honest or natural.
Grammar: Uncountable here: contortion of the facts, not a contortion of the facts.
Patterns
- contortion of the truth
- contortion of facts
The report was criticized for its contortion of the facts.
His explanation was a contortion of the truth to avoid blame.
Word forms
| plural | contortions |
|---|
Common combinations
- facial contortion
- Her facial contortion showed she had bitten into something sour.
- a contortion of the body
- The gymnast held a contortion of the body that seemed to defy nature.
- do contortions
- The children were doing contortions on the trampoline.
- contortion of the truth
- The lawyer's contortion of the truth did not convince the jury.
Synonyms and how they differ
- twist
- Twist is more general and can describe a simple turning movement; contortion suggests a more extreme or unnatural shape.
- distortion
- Distortion is often used for changes to facts, sound, or images, while contortion is more physical or bodily.
- warp
- Warp suggests bending out of shape, especially of materials, but it is less common for body movements.
Word family
- contort verb
- To twist something into an unusual shape.
- contorted adjective
- Twisted or bent in an unnatural way.
- contortionist noun
- A performer who can twist their body into extreme positions.
Commonly confused: contortion or contraception? contortion or convulsion?
contortion vs contraception
Contraception means methods to prevent pregnancy; it sounds similar but has a completely different meaning.
contortion vs convulsion
A convulsion is a sudden, violent, uncontrollable movement of the body, often caused by illness; a contortion is usually deliberate or shaped.
Practice
The gymnast's ______ amazed the judges, who had never seen such a twisted position.
Choose one answer.
Contortion fits because it means a twisted body position. Contraction means becoming smaller, construction means building, and convention means a large meeting or a custom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “contortion”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.