distort
Change facts or meaning misleadingly
To change what you say or show so it is not true or not like the original meaning.
to distort [the truth/facts/information/meaning]
- 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.
- 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.
Physically twist or alter appearance
To make the shape, picture, or sound of something strange or unclear.
to distort [an image/sound/face/shape]
- 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.
- 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.
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.
to distort [a signal/sound/wave]
- 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.
- 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.
- Base: distort
- 3rd Person Singular: distorts
- Present Participle: distorting
- Past: distorted
distort reality
1Give 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.
- 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
1Change reported facts unfairly
To change or present facts in a wrong way so that people get a false idea of what happened.
- The article distorts the facts to support a political agenda.
- She accused her opponent of distorting the facts about her record.
distort the market
1Unnaturally affect market behavior
To change the normal way buyers and sellers act, so prices or competition are not natural anymore.
- 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
1Change the truth to mislead
To say or show something in a way that makes it less true, often so people will believe something different.
- The advertisement distorts the truth about how effective the product is.
- He claimed the documentary distorted the truth to create drama.