the state of being distorted or the relative degree or amount by which something is distorted or distorts.
anything that is distorted, as a sound, image, fact, etc.
Optics. an aberration of a lens or system of lenses in which the magnification of the object varies with the lateral distance from the axis of the lens.
Compare barrel distortion, pincushion distortion.
Origin of distortion
First recorded in 1575–85, distortion is from the Latin word distortiōn- (stem of distortiō). See distort, -ion
Our autobiographical memories are subject to all kinds of distortions—what psychologist Daniel Schacter cheekily calls “sins of commission.”
You can’t completely trust your memories|David Linden|September 30, 2020|Popular Science
In particular, the researchers look for distortions caused by gravitational waves — ripples in space-time that, when they pass through the pulsars, change the blips’ arrival time on Earth.
Some Physicists See Signs of Cosmic Strings From the Big Bang|Thomas Lewton|September 29, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Embellishment, distortion, and outright lying become that much easier, especially for public figures, whose posts on social platforms often get special treatment.
The technology that powers the 2020 campaigns, explained|Tate Ryan-Mosley|September 28, 2020|MIT Technology Review
The team showed that this pattern held quantitatively, with greater prediction errors correlating with greater distortions of perceived time.
Reasons Revealed for the Brain’s Elastic Sense of Time|Jordana Cepelewicz|September 24, 2020|Quanta Magazine
They corrected distortions from the chopping using data from the MRI scans and then lined up neurons in consecutive sections—picture putting together a 3D puzzle—to reconstruct the whole brain.
These Scientists Just Completed a 3D ‘Google Earth’ for the Brain|Shelly Fan|August 5, 2020|Singularity Hub
Disguise, distortion, and deception were accepted as reality.
What Cold War CIA Interrogators Learned from the Nazis|Annie Jacobsen|February 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The ad is a distortion based on blatantly spliced quotes—and as you might expect, facts are the first casualty.
The Obama Scandals Are Desperate Measures by the GOP|Robert Shrum|May 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It would also rectify an ironic, and tragic, distortion of history.
Could an African LGBT Activist Win the Nobel Peace Prize?|Jay Michaelson|May 5, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The extent of distortion and disinformation, of efforts to control Syrians' opinions, is mind-boggling, and terrifying.
Syria's Media War|Anonymous|May 18, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Radical militants do not represent mainstream Islam; their doctrine reflects a distortion of a great religion.
Our Homegrown Terror Threat|Michael Chertoff|January 1, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Presently, noting Luisa's pallor, and the distortion of her features, he motioned to a girl to take her place.
The Patriot|Antonio Fogazzaro
A slight, very slight, distortion marked his features, and a faint tremor seemed to quiver on his lip.
Roland Cashel|Charles James Lever
Any distortion of the face by mental agony implies that a struggle with circumstance is going on.
Ruth|Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
Redundancy has been mistaken for plenitude, flimsiness for ease, and distortion for energy.
Coelebs In Search of a Wife|Hannah More
After this distortion the book passed into not altogether unmerited oblivion.
Renaissance in Italy: Italian Literature|John Addington Symonds
British Dictionary definitions for distortion
distortion
/ (dɪˈstɔːʃən) /
noun
the act or an instance of distorting or the state of being distorted
something that is distorted
an aberration of a lens or optical system in which the magnification varies with the lateral distance from the axis
electronics
an undesired change in the shape of an electromagnetic wave or signal
the result of such a change in waveform, esp a loss of clarity in radio reception or sound reproduction
psychola change in perception so that it does not correspond to reality
psychoanalthe disguising of the meaning of unconscious thoughts so that they may appear in consciousness, e.g. in dreams