verb
wrest
To twist words away from their intended meaning.
The headline wrests her words into a claim she never makes.
Etymology
The physical twisting verb becomes a metaphor for distortion. Wresting words bends their meaning away from what the speaker intended.
More examples
- He wrested a harmless remark into an insult.
- Quoting only half the sentence wrests it from its intended meaning.
- She accuses the critic of wresting her words to suit his argument.
Forms
wrest · wrests · wrested · wresting