---
title: distort — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «distort» in the school dictionary: To change the shape of something so it looks twisted or wrong, as in a fun-house mirror that distorts your face. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# distort

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** shape, house mirror, facts, sound, curved mirror, newspaper · **What happens:** change, look, distort, give, be, say · **To what, where:** shape, face, facts, false idea, truth, sound · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«distort» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [distort in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/distort.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To change the shape of something so it looks twisted or wrong, as in a fun-house mirror that distorts your face.

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:distort:m1:1
# text = To change the shape of something so it looks twisted or wrong, as in a fun-house mirror that distorts your face.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	change	change	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	shape	shape	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	4	nmod	_	_
7	so	so	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	looks	look	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
10	twisted	twisted	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	xcomp	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
14	as	as	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
15	in	in	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
17	fun	fun	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	house	house	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	compound	_	_
20	mirror	mirror	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
21	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	22	nsubj	_	_
22	distorts	distort	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	20	acl:relcl	_	_
23	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	24	nmod:poss	_	_
24	face	face	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **change** | to-infinitive |  | the shape of something |  |  |  | as a house mirror | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent shape=Patient |
| 2 | **look** | present | shape |  |  |  |  | twisted *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |
| 3 | **distort** | present | a house mirror | your face |  |  |  |  | vn knead-26.5 «NP V NP.material»: agent=Agent face=Material |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To change facts or words so they give a false idea, as in «distort the truth».

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:distort:m2:1
# text = To change facts or words so they give a false idea, as in «distort the truth».
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	change	change	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	advcl	_	_
3	facts	fact	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	conj	_	_
6	so	so	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
7	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	give	give	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	false	false	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
13	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
14	in	in	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
15	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	distort	distort	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	ccomp	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	truth	truth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **change** | to-infinitive | facts *= fact* *not said here* | facts or words |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fact=Patient |
| 2 | **give** | present | facts *= fact* | a false idea |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **distort** *in a quote* | infinitive | facts *= fact* *not said here* | the truth |  |  |  |  | vn knead-26.5 «NP V NP.material»: agent=Agent truth=Material |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To change a sound so it is unclear or crackly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:distort:m3:1
# text = To change a sound so it is unclear or crackly.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	change	change	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	so	so	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	unclear	unclear	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	ccomp	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	crackly	crackly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **change** | to-infinitive |  | a sound |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sound=Patient |
| 2 | **is** | present | sound |  |  |  |  | unclear *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **be** |  | sound *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The curved mirror distorted my face.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:distort:x1:1
# text = The curved mirror distorted my face.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	curved	curved	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	mirror	mirror	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	distorted	distort	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	face	face	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **distort** | past | the curved mirror | my face |  |  |  |  | vn knead-26.5 «NP V NP.material»: agent=Agent face=Material |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The newspaper distorted what the mayor said.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:distort:x2:1
# text = The newspaper distorted what the mayor said.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	newspaper	newspaper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	distorted	distort	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	7	obj	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	mayor	mayor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **distort** | past | the newspaper |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | the mayor |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Water distorts the look of a pencil in a glass.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:distort:x3:1
# text = Water distorts the look of a pencil in a glass.
1	Water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	distorts	distort	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	look	look	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	pencil	pencil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	glass	glass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **distort** | present | Water | the look of a pencil in a glass |  |  |  |  | vn knead-26.5 «NP V NP.material»: agent=Agent look=Material |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The speaker was too loud and distorted the music.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:distort:x4:1
# text = The speaker was too loud and distorted the music.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	speaker	speaker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	too	too	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	loud	loud	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	distorted	distort	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	music	music	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the speaker |  |  |  |  | loud *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **distort** | past | the speaker *not said here* | the music |  |  |  |  | vn knead-26.5 «NP V NP.material»: agent=Agent music=Material |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Maps distort the size of Greenland.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:distort:x5:1
# text = Maps distort the size of Greenland.
1	Maps	map	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	distort	distort	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	size	size	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	Greenland	Greenland	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **distort** | present | Maps | the size of Greenland |  |  |  |  | vn knead-26.5 «NP V NP.material»: agent=Agent size=Material |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Don't distort the facts to win an argument.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:distort:x6:1
# text = Don't distort the facts to win an argument.
1	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	distort	distort	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	facts	fact	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	win	win	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
8	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	argument	argument	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **distort** | imperative · do-support | you *not said here* | the facts |  |  |  |  | vn knead-26.5 «NP V NP.material»: agent=Agent fact=Material |
| 2 | **win** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* | a argument |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent argument=Eventuality |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
As she looked across the sea, all there grew darker; a heavy mist came rolling onwards, and clung to bush and tree, distorting them into fantastic shapes.

<!-- fold The tree, 27 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:distort:x7:1
# text = As she looked across the sea, all there grew darker; a heavy mist came rolling onwards, and clung to bush and tree, distorting them into fantastic shapes.
1	As	as	SCONJ	IN	_	3	mark	_	_
2	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	looked	look	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	across	across	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	all	all	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
9	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	10	advmod	_	_
10	grew	grow	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
11	darker	dark	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	10	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	heavy	heavy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	mist	mist	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nsubj	_	_
16	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
17	rolling	roll	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	16	advcl	_	_
18	onwards	onwards	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
20	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
21	clung	cling	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	16	conj	_	_
22	to	to	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
23	bush	bush	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	21	xcomp	_	_
24	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	25	cc	_	_
25	tree	tree	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	27	punct	_	_
27	distorting	distort	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	23	advcl	_	_
28	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	27	obj	_	_
29	into	into	ADP	IN	_	31	case	_	_
30	fantastic	fantastic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	31	amod	_	_
31	shapes	shape	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	27	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
32	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **look** | past | she |  |  |  |  | across the sea | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent across sea=Theme |
| 2 | **grow** | past | she *not said here* |  |  | there |  | all, dark *property* | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **come** | past | a heavy mist |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **roll** | gerund | a heavy mist *not said here* |  |  |  |  | onwards *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 5 | **cling** | participle | a heavy mist *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 6 | **bush** | infinitive | a heavy mist *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 7 | **distort** | gerund | a heavy mist *not said here* | them *= they* |  | fantastic shapes |  |  | vn knead-26.5 «NP V NP.material PP.product»: agent=Agent they=Material into shape=Product |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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