contortion

Contortion — Con*tor tion (k[o^]n*t[^o] sh[u^]n), n. [L. contortio: cf. F. contorsion. See {Contort}, and cf. {Torsion}.] A twisting; a writhing; wry motion; a twist; as, the contortion of the muscles of the face. Swift. [1913 Webster] All the contortions of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

contortion — index distortion Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

contortion — early 15c., from M.Fr. contorsion or directly from L. contortionem (nom. contorsio), noun of action from contort , pp. stem of contorquere (see CONTORT (Cf. contort)) …   Etymology dictionary

contortion — [n] distortion, mutilation anamorphosis, crookedness, deformation, deformity, dislocation, grimace, malformation, misproportion, misshapement, pout, twist, ugliness, unsightliness, wryness; concepts 436,580 Ant. beauty, smoothness …   New thesaurus

contortion — [kən tôr′shən] n. [ME contorsioun] 1. a contorting or being contorted, esp. of the face or body 2. a contorted condition or position contortive adj …   English World dictionary

Contortion — For the band, see The Contortions. Contortionist performing …   Wikipedia

Contortion — Kontorsionistin Der Begriff Kontorsion (lat. „contortio“ = Drehung, Windung) beschreibt eine Form von Akrobatik Vorführungen, bei welcher der Artist seinen Körper in Positionen verbiegt, die für die meisten Menschen unerreichbar scheinen.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

contortion — contortional, adj. contortioned, adj. /keuhn tawr sheuhn/, n. 1. the act or process of contorting. 2. the state of being contorted. 3. a contorted position. 4. something contorted or twisted, as in position or meaning: His account of the incident …   Universalium

contortion — UK [kənˈtɔː(r)ʃ(ə)n] / US [kənˈtɔrʃ(ə)n] noun [countable] Word forms contortion : singular contortion plural contortions 1) the process of twisting your face or body into a shape that is not natural, or the positions into which they have been… …   English dictionary

contortion — con|tor|tion [kənˈto:ʃən US o:r ] n 1.) a twisted position or movement that looks surprising or strange ▪ I could not force my body into the contortions required by classical ballet. ▪ facial contortions 2.) [U] when something is twisted so that… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

contortion — noun (U) 1 the act of twisting something so that it does not have its normal shape, and looks strange or unattractive, or the fact of being twisted in this way: the involuntary contortion of muscles brought on by the illness 2 (C) a twisted… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English