distort
gb/dɪstˈɔɹt/ us/dɪstˈɔɹt/
B2
Inglés
~ 6900
Acepciones
0 acepciones
Verbo
B2
action
1
Change facts or meaning misleadingly
To change what you say or show so it is not true or not like the original meaning.
Patrón de uso:
to distort [the truth/facts/information/meaning]
Error frecuente:
Learners sometimes use "distort" when they just mean "change" or "paraphrase". "Distort" is negative and suggests the result is less true or less accurate, not just different. Also, learners may say "distort about the facts"; the correct pattern is "distort the facts" without a preposition.
Sinónimos
misrepresent (Stresses giving a false or unfair description, often in a formal or legal context.)
|
twist (More informal and vivid; suggests changing someone’s words to suit your own purpose.)
Antónimos
clarify (Means to make something clearer and more accurate, the opposite of making it misleading.)
|
accurately represent (Directly contrasts with changing information so it no longer matches reality.)
Colocaciones
distort the truth
|distort the facts
|distort reality
|distort the meaning
|deliberately distort
|grossly distort
Temas
communication
|media
|politics
|core_vocabulary
Ejemplos
- The report was carefully written so as not to distort the facts.
- Some politicians distort the truth to make their opponents look bad.
- The translation slightly distorts the original meaning of the poem.
- Media outlets can unintentionally distort reality by focusing only on dramatic events.
- He accused the article of distorting his comments beyond recognition.
Ejemplos para estudiantes
- The news story distorted what really happened.
- She said the movie distorts the history of the war.
- He felt the journalist had distorted his words.
- If you only tell part of the story, you distort the truth.
- They were angry because the ad distorted the facts about the product.
Verbo
B2
action
2
Physically twist or alter appearance
To make the shape, picture, or sound of something strange or unclear.
Patrón de uso:
to distort [an image/sound/face/shape]
Error frecuente:
Learners sometimes use "destroy" instead of "distort" when describing images or sound. "Destroy" means to completely ruin or break something, while "distort" means to change its shape or clarity so it looks or sounds strange but still exists.
Sinónimos
deform (Emphasizes making something misshapen, often physically and sometimes permanently.)
|
warp (Suggests bending out of the correct shape, especially from heat or moisture.)
Antónimos
straighten (Opposite in the sense of removing bends or twists from something’s shape.)
|
clarify (As applied to sound or image, means to make it clearer instead of less clear.)
Colocaciones
distort the image
|distort the sound
|distort the shape
|distort her face
|distort the picture
|visibly distort
Temas
visual
|art
|technology
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Ejemplos
- The curved glass distorts the view of the street outside.
- Low-quality speakers can distort the sound at high volume.
- The wide-angle lens slightly distorts the edges of the photograph.
- Heat from the fire had distorted the metal frame of the door.
- Her face was distorted by pain as she tried to stand.
Ejemplos para estudiantes
- The mirror distorts my face.
- The loud music distorted the sound of his voice.
- Water in the glass distorts the picture behind it.
- The old TV distorts the image when it gets hot.
- The photo app can distort your face to make it look funny.
Verbo
technical
C1
action
3
Degrade or alter a technical signal
To change a sound, picture, or other signal in a system so that it is not like the original and usually worse.
Patrón de uso:
to distort [a signal/sound/wave]
Error frecuente:
Learners may confuse the everyday sense of "distort" (to twist or misrepresent) with this technical use. In technical writing, "distort" almost always refers to a signal, sound, image, or data being changed by a device or system, not to people lying or changing facts.
Sinónimos
degrade (Technical; stresses a reduction in quality of the signal rather than a change in shape alone.)
|
corrupt (Used in computing/telecoms; highlights that the data or signal has been changed and may be unusable.)
Antónimos
preserve (Means to keep the signal unchanged and accurate through the system.)
|
faithfully reproduce (Explicitly contrasts with altering the signal’s original form.)
Colocaciones
distort the signal
|distort the waveform
|amplifier distortion
|distort the audio
|signal is distorted
|minimize distortion
Temas
technology
|engineering
|audio
|science
Ejemplos
- Long cable runs can distort the signal and introduce noise.
- If you turn the gain up too high, the amplifier will distort the audio.
- The codec compresses the video without noticeably distorting the image.
- Interference from nearby equipment was distorting the radio transmission.
- Engineers redesigned the circuit to reduce the way it distorted the input waveform.
Ejemplos para estudiantes
- Cheap speakers can distort the sound when it is loud.
- The bad cable distorted the signal from the microphone.
- We need a better system so the phone call is not distorted.
- The software fixes video that is distorted during streaming.
- Noise from other machines can distort the radio signal.
Gramática
Forma de diccionario
distort
AFI
GB/dɪstˈɔɹt/
US/dɪstˈɔɹt/
Sílabas y acento
dis - tort (2 sílabas)
Stress on 2nd syllable (tort)
Formas de la palabra
Verb
- Base: distort
- 3rd Person Singular: distorts
- Present Participle: distorting
- Past: distorted
Familia de palabras
Forms
distorts
verb
distorting
verb
distorted
verb
Core family
distortion
noun B2
Negative and opposite forms
undistorted
adjective
Expresiones
distort reality
1/dɪstˈɔɹt ɹiˈæləti/
fixed phrase
Give a false picture of reality
To make people see the world in a way that is not true, usually by giving them a biased or false picture.
Ejemplos
- Social media can distort reality by showing only perfect moments from people’s lives.
- Propaganda is often designed to distort reality and control public opinion.
distort the facts
1/dɪstˈɔɹt ðə fˈækts/
fixed phrase
Change reported facts unfairly
To change or present facts in a wrong way so that people get a false idea of what happened.
Ejemplos
- The article distorts the facts to support a political agenda.
- She accused her opponent of distorting the facts about her record.
distort the market
1/dɪstˈɔɹt ðə mˈɑɹkɪt/
fixed phrase
formal
Unnaturally affect market behavior
To change the normal way buyers and sellers act, so prices or competition are not natural anymore.
Ejemplos
- Some subsidies can distort the market by giving certain companies an unfair advantage.
- Regulators warned that the new rules might distort the market for small investors.
distort the truth
1/dɪstˈɔɹt ðə tɹˈuθ/
fixed phrase
Change the truth to mislead
To say or show something in a way that makes it less true, often so people will believe something different.
Ejemplos
- The advertisement distorts the truth about how effective the product is.
- He claimed the documentary distorted the truth to create drama.