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distortion

noun
dis·​tor·​tion | \ di-ˈstȯr-shən How to pronounce distortion (audio) \

Definition of distortion

1 : the act of twisting or altering something out of its true, natural, or original state : the act of distorting a distortion of the facts
2 : the quality or state of being distorted : a product of distorting: such as
a physics : a lack of proportionality in an image resulting from defects in the optical system an image free of distortion
b : falsified reproduction of an audio or video signal (see signal entry 1 sense 4b) caused by change in the wave form of the original signal
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Other Words from distortion

distortional \ di-​ˈstȯr-​shnəl How to pronounce distortional (audio) , -​shə-​nᵊl \ adjective

Examples of distortion in a Sentence

a distortion of the car chassis resulting from collision

Recent Examples on the Web

 In other words, the NY Fed's model could be giving off a false positive because of the enormous distortions in the bond market. — Matt Egan, CNN, "Wall Street's favorite recession signal suggests the economy is in trouble," 6 Sep. 2019 Free trade with China means allowing its distortions into our market. — Nicholas Phillips, National Review, "The Trade War Is Smart Geopolitics," 5 Sep. 2019 This setting may introduce slight distortions in such scenarios due to the application of fractional scaling. — Brad Chacos, PCWorld, "Intel adds 'retro scaling' to Ice Lake CPUs to make pixel-art games look more crisp on modern displays," 3 Sep. 2019 But there are thousands of layers, each contributing its own distortion, leaving you with a white haze. — Chris Lee, Ars Technica, "Metamaterial-equipped endoscope reveals your innermost secrets," 4 Aug. 2018 There is more demand for bonds because there are more foreign buyers and corporations face regulatory constraints, which is another form of distortion. — Allison Schrager, Quartz, "Are negative interest rates unusual, natural, or both?," 30 July 2019 Gravity is not a force, but rather a distortion of time and space. — Devin Powell, Discover Magazine, "How to Understand Einstein's Theory of Gravity," 24 May 2019 Unfortunately the best maps of the CMB (provided by the Planck satellite) showed no such distortions. — Quanta Magazine, "The Last of the Universe’s Ordinary Matter Has Been Found," 10 Sep. 2018 The fundamental frequency and harmonics are far less well defined, which indicates audio distortion and a much rougher tone to the sound. — Jeff Kao And Jack Gillum, ProPublica, "Methodology: How We Tested an Aggression Detection Algorithm," 25 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'distortion.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of distortion

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for distortion

see distort

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More Definitions for distortion

distortion

noun
dis·​tor·​tion | \ di-ˈstȯr-shən How to pronounce distortion (audio) \

Kids Definition of distortion

: the act of twisting out of shape or making inaccurate : the state of being twisted out of shape or made inaccurate a distortion of the facts a facial distortion

distortion

noun
dis·​tor·​tion | \ dis-ˈtȯr-shən How to pronounce distortion (audio) \

Medical Definition of distortion

1 : the censorship of unacceptable unconscious impulses so that they are unrecognizable to the ego in the manifest content of a dream
2 : a lack of correspondence of size or intensity in an image resulting from defects in an optical system

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