distort
/dɪsˈtoɹt/verb
distort is spelled D-I-S-T-O-R-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, distort means “To bring something out of shape, to misshape” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in distort?
| Letters | 7: D-I-S-T-O-R-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 26,092nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is distort?
Distort appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce distort?
- UK /dɪsˈtɔːt/
- US /dɪsˈtoɹt/
- Australia /dɪsˈtoːt/
Distort has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-distort.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with distort?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as distort from its last stressed vowel (/oɹt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of distort
- distorts present, singular, he/she/it
- distorting participle, present
- distorted participle, past
- more distort comparative
- most distort superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does distort mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To bring something out of shape, to misshape.
- 2
To become misshapen.
- 3
To give a false or misleading account of; pervert.
In their articles, journalists sometimes distort the truth.
adjective
- 1
obsoleteDistorted; misshapen.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Distort in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | déformer, distordre |
| German | verzerren |
| Portuguese | distorcer, deformar |
| Spanish | deformar, distorsionar , tergiversar, desvirtuar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does distort come from?
Borrowed from Latin distortum, past participle of distorqueō (“to twist, torture, distort”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).