Meaning
Contortion (noun) refers to a twisted or bent shape, position, or movement, often in an unnatural or awkward way. It can describe physical twisting of the body or something figurative like distorted reasoning.
Grammar and Usage
- Part of speech: Noun
- Countable/Uncountable: Usually countable (a contortion / contortions).
- Used to describe both physical shapes (body, face, objects) and figurative distortions (logic, argument).
Sentence structures:
- "make a contortion"
- "a contortion of (body part)"
- "a contortion of logic/reasoning"
Common Phrases
- Facial contortion – a twisted or distorted facial expression.
- Body contortion – bending the body in an unnatural position.
- Contortion of logic – twisting reasoning unnaturally.
Collocations
- adjective + contortion: painful contortion, strange contortion, grotesque contortion
- verb + contortion: make a contortion, twist into a contortion
- contortion + of noun: contortion of the body, contortion of his face, contortion of logic
Examples
- The gymnast impressed the crowd with her incredible body contortions.
- His face twisted into a painful contortion as he tried to lift the heavy box.
- The movie showed the monster’s body in strange contortions.
- The lawyer’s argument was a contortion of logic that confused the jury.
- She smiled, though it looked more like a contortion than a genuine expression.
- The accident left the car in a twisted contortion of metal.
- Contortions of his back revealed how much pain he was in.
Synonyms or Related
- twist
- distortion
- writhing
- deformation
- contortionism (special performance art of twisting the body)