contort
/kənˈtɔː(ɹ)t/
"contort" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“contort” is uncommon English (frequency #91,376 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #91,376
- frequency rank, English
- 5,599
- “C” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To twist in a violent manner.
Corpus desk
Index EN-contort · contort · English
contort · rank #91,376 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #91,376
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 5,599
- PHOTO-FINISH consumptive
Nearest frequency peer: consumptive (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “contort”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- conker
conker
8,628 corpus weight
- Conolly
Conolly
8,627 corpus weight
- consumptive
consumptive
8,626 corpus weight
- contort
contort
8,625 corpus weight
- conveyer
conveyer
8,623 corpus weight
- cooed
cooed
8,622 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “contort” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | contort |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /kənˈtɔː(ɹ)t/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #91,376 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “contort” in English
Rare enough to double-check
contort is uncommon English at frequency #91,376 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /kənˈtɔː(ɹ)t/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for contort, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Equivalent to con- + -tort; from Middle English, borrowed from Latin contortus, past participle of contorqueō, from com- + torqueō (“twist, turn”). The correct English form is contort, spelled C-O-N-T-O-R-T.
Definition
- 1To twist in a violent manner.
- 2To twist into or as if into a strained shape or expression.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how contort appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
features contorted with fury
Etymology
Equivalent to con- + -tort; from Middle English, borrowed from Latin contortus, past participle of contorqueō, from com- + torqueō (“twist, turn”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "contort"?
What does "contort" mean?
How do you pronounce "contort"?
What is the origin of the word "contort"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "contort", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).