twisted

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

twist

(twĭst)

v. twist·ed, twist·ing, twists

v.tr.

a. To wind together (two or more threads, for example) so as to produce a single strand.

b. To form in this manner: twist a length of rope from strands of hemp.

2. To wind or coil (vines or rope, for example) about something.

3. To interlock or interlace: twist flowers in one's hair.

4. To make (one's way) in a tortuous manner: twisted my way through the briar patch.

5. To cause to rotate or turn in another direction: twisted their heads around at the sound of the doorbell.

6. To impart a spiral or coiling shape to, as by turning the ends in opposite directions: twisting wire into a loop.

a. To turn or open by turning: twisted off the bottle cap.

b. To pull, break, or snap by turning: twist off a dead branch.

8. To wrench or sprain: twist one's wrist.

9. To alter the normal aspect of; contort: twist one's mouth into a wry smile.

10. To alter or distort the intended meaning of: The cross-examiner twisted the words of the witness. See Synonyms at distort.

11. To alter or distort the mental, moral, or emotional character of: The trauma twisted the child's outlook.

v.intr.

1. To be or become twisted.

2. To move or progress in a winding course; meander: The river twisted toward the sea.

3. To squirm; writhe: twist with pain.

4. To rotate or turn in another direction: The owl's head twisted around toward me.

5. To dance the twist.

1. Something twisted or formed by twisting, especially:

a. A length of yarn, cord, or thread, especially a strong silk thread used mainly to bind the edges of buttonholes.

b. Tobacco leaves processed into the form of a rope or roll.

c. A loaf of bread or other bakery product made from pieces of dough twisted together.

d. A sliver of citrus peel twisted over or dropped into a beverage for flavoring.

2. A spin, twirl, or rotation.

3. Sports

a. A complete rotation of the body around its vertical axis, as in diving and gymnastics.

b. A spinning motion given to a ball when thrown or struck in a specific way.

a. The state of being twisted into a spiral; torsional stress or strain.

b. The degree or angle of torsional stress.

a. A contortion or distortion of the body, especially the face.

b. A distortion of meaning: gave my words a misleading twist.

6. A sprain or wrench, as of an ankle.

7. A change in direction; a turn: a sharp twist in the path.

8. An unexpected change in a process or a departure from a pattern, often producing a distortion or perversion: a twist of fate; a story with a quirky twist.

9. A personal inclination or eccentricity; a penchant or flaw: an odd twist to his character.

10. A dance characterized by vigorous gyrations of the hips and arms.

Phrasal Verb:

twist off

To remove by twisting.

Idioms:

leave to twist/leave twisting in the wind

To abandon (someone) to a bad situation, often as a recipient of blame: "If our envoy was so blameless, why had she been left to twist in the wind?" (William Safire).

twist (someone's) arm Slang

To pressure or coerce: If you twist my arm, I'll stay for a second beer.

[Middle English twisten, to squeeze, be divided, from twist, a divided object, fork, rope, from Old English -twist; see dwo- in Indo-European roots.]

twist′a·bil′i·ty n.

twist′a·ble adj.

twist′ing·ly adv.

twist′y adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

twisted

twist-grip - A bicycle grip that may be twisted to change the gears is a twist-grip.
pigtail - In the 17th century, it was tobacco twisted into a thin rope, which resembled the animal's tail.
torsibility - The tendency to untwist after being twisted; it is also the degree to which something can be twisted.
writhen - "Twisted or contorted out of shape."

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.

twisted - having an intended meaning altered or misrepresented; "many of the facts seemed twisted out of any semblance to reality"; "a perverted translation of the poem"

misrepresented, perverted, distorted

artful, disingenuous - not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness; "an ambitious, disingenuous, philistine, and hypocritical operator, who...exemplified...the most disagreeable traits of his time"- David Cannadine; "a disingenuous excuse"

twisted

adjective

1. perverted, sick (informal), evil, corrupt, corrupted, distorted, abnormal, warped, unhealthy, degenerate, deviant, wicked, sadistic, depraved, debased, debauched, aberrant, pervy (informal) the workings of a twisted mind

2. crumpled, crushed, distorted, warped, buckled, deformed, misshapen The three survivors sat 300 yards from the twisted wreckage.

3. crooked, contorted, lopsided, wry a wry, twisted smile

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

مَفْتول، مَجْدول

kroucenýzkreslenýzkroucený

forvredet

verdreht

torcido contrahecho deformado

keerdunud

tordu tortu tortueux

meggörbült

aflagaîur; kræklóttur

contorto torto

vindskjev vridd

кручёный

skreslený

bükülmüşdolanmış

变形的走了样的

twisted

[ˈtwɪstɪd] ADJ

1. (= distorted) [metal, roots, cables, smile] → retorcido; [face, features] → torcido

2. (= injured) [ankle, wrist] → torcido

3. (= warped) [person, mind, logic] → retorcido

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

twisted

[ˈtwɪstɪd] adj

[wire, rope] → entortillé(e)

[ankle, wrist] → tordu(e), foulé(e)

(= warped) [logic, mind] → tordu(e); [person] → tordu(e)
bitter and twisted → aigri(e)

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

twisted

adj

wires, rope → (zusammen)gedreht; (= bent) → verbogen; (= tangled) strap → verdreht; twisted-pair cable → verdrilltes Kabel

ankle → verrenkt

(fig pej: = warped) mind, logic → verdreht; bitter and twisted → verbittert und verwirrt

(inf: = dishonest) → unredlich

(= disfigured) limbs → verwachsen

(= sneering) face, smile → verzerrt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

twisted

[ˈtwɪstɪd] adj (wire, rope) → attorcigliato/a; (ankle, wrist) → slogato/a (fig) (logic, mind) → contorto/a

twist

(twist) verb

1. to turn round (and round). He twisted the knob; The road twisted through the mountains.

2. to wind around or together. He twisted the piece of string (together) to make a rope.

3. to force out of the correct shape or position. The heat of the fire twisted the metal; He twisted her arm painfully.

noun

1. the act of twisting.

2. a twisted piece of something. He added a twist of lemon to her drink.

3. a turn, coil etc. There's a twist in the rope.

4. a change in direction (of a story etc). The story had a strange twist at the end.

ˈtwisted adjective

bent out of shape. a twisted branch; a twisted report.

ˈtwister noun

a dishonest or deceiving person.

References in classic literature ?

He shook his head, his stern mouth shaping the strangest, twisted smile.

Again his stern mouth framed the twisted smile, as he said:

View in context

It is delicious, like the twisted little apples that grow in the or- chards of Winesburg.

The condition that had brought her to him passed in an illness, but she was like one who has discovered the sweetness of the twisted apples, she could not get her mind fixed again upon the round perfect fruit that is eaten in the city apartments.

View in context

He looked me squarely in the eyes, and twisted his mouth askew.

View in context

AN American Statesman who had twisted the tail of the British Lion until his arms ached was at last rewarded by a sharp, rasping sound.

View in context

Vasili Andreevich jumped off, and in so doing dragged to one side the breechband on which his foot was resting, and twisted round the pad to which he held as he dismounted.

View in context

But the most annoying hindrance we encountered was from a multitude of crooked boughs, which, shooting out almost horizontally from the sides of the chasm, twisted themselves together in fantastic masses almost to the surface of the stream, affording us no passage except under the low arches which they formed.

View in context

But these fingers were provocative only of physical pleasure so keen that he twisted and writhed his whole body in acknowledgment.

View in context

About his neck, from a cord of twisted coconut sennit, hung an ivory-white necklace of wild-boar's tusks.

View in context

"They might a-got their fingers twisted, but they owned the best goin' in the way of horses and such."

View in context

One day toward the end of December Natasha, pale and thin, dressed in a black woolen gown, her plaited hair negligently twisted into a knot, was crouched feet and all in the corner of her sofa, nervously crumpling and smoothing out the end of her sash while she looked at a corner of the door.