distortion

/dɪˈstɔrʃɪn/

/dɪˈstɔʃən/

Other forms: distortions

A distortion is a change, twist, or exaggeration that makes something appear different from the way it really is. You can distort an image, a thought, or even an idea. To say that I never take out the garbage is a distortion of the facts.

The heat from the highway creates a distortion in the way objects in the distance appear: They wiggle and dance. The heat creates a wavy distortion in the air that shakes up the image of the things beyond it. Things are the way they are: to change them is to distort them or to create a distortion. Some guitar players prefer distortion: they plug their instrument into amps and pedals that twist and stretch the sound so much that you might not even recognize its source as a guitar.

Definitions of distortion

1. noun

   a shape resulting from distortion
   synonyms: distorted shape

   types:

   contortion, crookedness, torsion, tortuosity, tortuousness

   a tortuous and twisted shape or position

   buckle, warp

   a shape distorted by twisting or folding

   gnarl, knot

   something twisted and tight and swollen

   type of:

   form, shape

   the spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance
2. noun

   the act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean
   synonyms: overrefinement, straining, torture, twisting

   type of:

   falsification, misrepresentation

   a willful perversion of facts
3. noun

   a change for the worse
   synonyms: deformation

   types:

   warp, warping

   a moral or mental distortion

   type of:

   damage, harm, impairment

   the occurrence of a change for the worse
4. noun

   an optical phenomenon resulting from the failure of a lens or mirror to produce a good image
   synonyms: aberration, optical aberration

   types:

   chromatic aberration

   an optical aberration in which the image has colored fringes

   spherical aberration

   an optical aberration resulting in a distorted image

   type of:

   optical phenomenon

   a physical phenomenon related to or involving light
5. noun

   a change (usually undesired) in the waveform of an acoustic or analog electrical signal; the difference between two measurements of a signal (as between the input and output signal)
   “heavy metal guitar players use vacuum tube amplifiers to produce extreme distortion”

   types:

   amplitude distortion, nonlinear distortion

   distortion that occurs when the output signal does not have a linear relation to the input signal

   type of:

   acoustic phenomenon

   a physical phenomenon associated with the production or transmission of sound

   electrical phenomenon

   a physical phenomenon involving electricity
6. noun

   the mistake of misrepresenting the facts
   type of:

   error, fault, mistake

   a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention