contort
verb /kənˈtɔːt/
/kənˈtɔːrt/
[intransitive, transitive]Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they contort | /kənˈtɔːt/ /kənˈtɔːrt/ |
| he / she / it contorts | /kənˈtɔːts/ /kənˈtɔːrts/ |
| past simple contorted | /kənˈtɔːtɪd/ /kənˈtɔːrtɪd/ |
| past participle contorted | /kənˈtɔːtɪd/ /kənˈtɔːrtɪd/ |
| -ing form contorting | /kənˈtɔːtɪŋ/ /kənˈtɔːrtɪŋ/ |
- to become twisted or make something twisted out of its natural or normal shape
- His face contorted with anger.
- contort something Her mouth was contorted in a snarl.
- A spasm of pain contorted his face.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryContort is used with these nouns as the subject:- face
- mouth
- feature
Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin contort- ‘twisted round, brandished’, from the verb contorquere, from con- ‘together’ + torquere ‘twist’.