Definition of "contorted" [con•tort•ed]

• Twisted or strained out of shape. (adjective)
• Botany Twisted, bent, or partially rolled upon itself; convolute. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Gavino’s face whipped in their direction and his expression contorted into one of loathing."
• "In a short video, men tied in contorted positions are held down on the ground and questioned."
• "The 2010 election was the political equivalent of the perfect crime: The GOP vigorously took on all reforms designed to rebalance the economy for the long term, tying Washington up in contorted knots, then were rewarded at the polls by voters dissatisfied with an ugly D.C. culture unable to produce economic renewal."