distorting
Twisting out of shape
Distorting is altering something so it becomes twisted, misshapen, or inaccurate.
A funhouse mirror distorts your reflection.
Heat distorts metal.
More often the distortion is abstract: The article was accused of distorting the facts.
Sound equipment distorts audio when overdriven.
Bias distorts judgment.
The word implies deviation from a true or original form.
Portraying something inaccurately
- falsifyingMaking intentionally untrue
- fabricatingManufacturing falsely
- exaggeratingOverstating for effect
- twistingRotating with distortion
spinning · manipulating · deceiving · misleading · lying · overstating · understating · embellishing
Becoming bent or twisted
- bendingCurving from straight
- twistingRotating with distortion
- contortingTwisting into unnatural shapes
- deformingAltering original shape
skewing · misshaping · stretching · compressing · buckling · curving · crumpling · mangling
Perceiving nonexistent stimuli
- disorientingCausing loss of direction
- confusingCausing mental uncertainty
- warpingBecoming bent or twisted
- alteringMaking changes to
psychedelic · surreal · dreamlike · illusory · kaleidoscopic · dizzying · vertiginous · trippy
Light-focusing curved glass
- mirrorReflective viewing surface
- reflectionReturned light or thought
- refractionWave bending between media
- aberrationDeviation from the norm
fisheye · wide-angle · barrel · pincushion · chromatic · spherical · astigmatism · funhouse
Piece cut out
- feedbackReturned response data
- overdriveEfficiency mode at speed
- saturationState of complete permeation
- fuzzFine downy fibers
crackling · interference · static · noise · compression · equalization · modulation · waveform
Influencing unfairly beforehand
- slantingAngled from vertical
- skewingCausing asymmetrical distortion
- coloringAdding pigment to something
- taintingPolluting or corrupting
influencing · swaying · framing · filtering · cherry-picking · confirmation · cognitive · selective
misrepresenting
Portraying something inaccurately
- falsifyingMaking intentionally untrue
- fabricatingManufacturing falsely
- exaggeratingOverstating for effect
twisting · spinning · manipulating · deceiving · misleading · lying · overstating · understating · embellishing · sensationalizing
warping
Becoming bent or twisted
- bendingCurving from straight
- twistingRotating with distortion
- contortingTwisting into unnatural shapes
deforming · skewing · misshaping · stretching · compressing · buckling · curving · crumpling · mangling · wrenching
hallucinating
Perceiving nonexistent stimuli
- disorientingCausing loss of direction
- confusingCausing mental uncertainty
- warpingBecoming bent or twisted
altering · psychedelic · surreal · dreamlike · illusory · kaleidoscopic · dizzying · vertiginous · trippy · mind-bending
lens
Light-focusing curved glass
- mirrorReflective viewing surface
- reflectionReturned light or thought
- refractionWave bending between media
aberration · fisheye · wide-angle · barrel · pincushion · chromatic · spherical · astigmatism · funhouse · kaleidoscope
clipping
Piece cut out
- feedbackReturned response data
- overdriveEfficiency mode at speed
- saturationState of complete permeation
fuzz · crackling · interference · static · noise · compression · equalization · modulation · waveform · harmonic
prejudicing
Influencing unfairly beforehand
- slantingAngled from vertical
- skewingCausing asymmetrical distortion
- coloringAdding pigment to something
tainting · influencing · swaying · framing · filtering · cherry-picking · confirmation · cognitive · selective · partisan
- deformingbending, twisting, warping, curving, folding
- shapingmolding, folding, sculpting, forming, curving
- deceptionlie, lies, lying, fake, fraud
- corruptioncorruption, graft, kickbacks, bribery, bribes
- makingcrafting, making, building, creating, DIY projects
- influencingswaying, steering, guiding, directing, shaping
distortingpreserving
Protecting from deterioration
clarifying · representing · depicting · elucidating · illuminating
distortingstraightening
Making something not crooked
restoring · correcting · preserving · aligning · maintaining
distortingclarifying
Making something understandable
preserving · purifying · cleaning up · cleaning · restoring
- audio distortionDegraded sound quality
- time distortionAltered perception of duration
- visual distortionAltered image appearance
- distorting mirrorSurface showing bent reflections
- cognitive distortionsIrrational thinking patterns
- distortion pedalEffect that clips signal