noun
contortion
kun-TOR-shun/kənˈtɔːrʃn/
A severely twisted bodily position or movement.
The performer's contortion bends her body into a tight curve.
Etymology
Built on twisting, with a prefix that perhaps intensifies it, contortion first named the act of twisting or wrenching. It then came to name the resulting distorted state or shape.
In context
nervous contortion of the forehead
More examples
- His face tightens into a painful contortion.
- She practices slow contortions to prepare for her circus act.
- Getting through the narrow opening requires an awkward contortion.
Forms
contortion · contortions
contort verb — To twist sharply out of shape.
contortionist noun — A performer who twists into extreme positions.