deform may imply a change of shape through stress, injury, or accident of growth.
a face deformed by hatred
distort and contort both imply a wrenching from the natural or normal, but contort suggests a more involved twisting and a more grotesque and painful result.
the odd camera angle distorts the figure
disease had contorted her body
warp indicates an uneven shrinking that bends or twists out of a flat plane.
warped floorboards
Example Sentences
Noun There's a warp in the floorboards. an unshakable belief in the essential goodness of humankind is the warp of his philosophy Verb The wood was warped by moisture. The heat caused the wood to warp. He held prejudices that warped his judgment.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
That wrong warp can save a lot of tedious traversal and avoid many threats at the same time. Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 11 Apr. 2022 Entanglement, then, may undergird the structure of space itself, forming the warp and weft that give rise to the geometry of the world. Adam Becker, Scientific American, 20 Jan. 2022 Revealed in this warp and weft is the overlap in the behavioral patterns of humans and wolves, as well as the limits of language. Margaret Wappler, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2021 But in time even simple declarative sentences start to warp.Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2021 Plus, in places with extreme daytime heat, where temperatures can reach 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius), the warp of fine cotton and silk can break on the loom. Sneha Mehta, Vogue, 22 Apr. 2021 With a cascade of white and yellow diamonds in an encyclopedic variety of cuts and sizes, these dangling earrings conjure the informal, unpretentious warp and weft that captured the designer’s renegade imagination so many years ago.New York Times, 2 Dec. 2020 Thread count is determined by the number of threads lengthwise (called the warp) and widthwise (the weft) in a one-inch square of fabric. Kelley Carter, ELLE Decor, 10 June 2020 That's already the case for games like Super Mario 64—since the game's source code was released last September, modders have created new tools that allow for easy world editing, background art, in-level warp zones, and more. Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 6 May 2020
Verb
The insider deal for Amazon’s fiber-optic provider is an extreme example of how those giveaways warp the dynamics in a small town. Mike Rogoway, oregonlive, 2 Sep. 2022 The Plaid looks like every other Model S, so only Teslarati will recognize that this is the one with the ability to warp your worldview. Rich Ceppos, Car and Driver, 27 July 2022 In Britain, train operators asked customers not to travel unless absolutely necessary, saying the heat was likely to warp rails and disrupt power supplies, leading to severe delays. Robert Edme And John Leicester, Anchorage Daily News, 18 July 2022 Trains ran at reduced speeds out of concern that the heat could warp railways. Christine Fernando, USA TODAY, 20 July 2022 All the negotiations are still under wraps, but Manchin’s influence and his demonstrated willingness to veto bills will very likely warp the final product. Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, 13 July 2022 Finally, an ice bath test was conducted to test whether a hot pan would warp when placed in cold water. Rennie Dyball, PEOPLE.com, 11 July 2022 This allows the galaxy cluster to literally warp space-time around it. Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 28 June 2022 Like most Murphy beds, they’re built with plywood, which can warp easily. Jill Gleeson, Country Living, 26 May 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Old English wearp; akin to Old High German warf warp, Old English weorpan to throw, Old Norse verpa
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a