contort

You don’t need to contort yourself to fit into someone else’s life, especially if that life doesn’t align with who you are or what you value.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

As much as the series is Mary’s bluestocking origin story, it also spells her freedom, which comes from no longer trying to impress or contort herself to fit the expectations of others.

From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026

Mr. Ali’s attempt to contort it to reflect the controversy over immigration policy is ham-handed and confused.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

With a swarm of dancers all wearing the same gray uniform, they contort their bodies around her, creating a collective spectacle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2025

We bonded over the various ways we could contort my Barbie and Ken dolls without breaking them.

From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass

Nevertheless, a cheeky portion of blue-green paint contorts itself into a standing position in the corner, fighting against the weight that urges the rest of the work Earthward.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

Across two hours, Buckley’s Bride shoots, kicks, contorts, dances, scrapes, whizzes, licks and screams, all the while coming no closer to her true self than she was at the start of the film.

From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026

At one point, a dancer contorts herself as she carries Particle, tucked in a birdcage, across a room.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2024

Callahan, 13, contorts herself into a backbend as 7-year-old Hudson fiddles with a balloon and 10-year-old Keegan plays the piano.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 24, 2023

At the mention of my name, Peeta’s face contorts in effort.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

But outrage soon spread online, with screen-grabs and an AI video that contorted Thomas’s face into a grin.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Ibrox contorted itself as the goalkeeper performed heroics and then the place let out a guttural groan as Hatate made it third time lucky.

From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2026

So, where did a baseball-loving future MLB star growing up in Sherman Oaks come to such a contorted conclusion?

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2026

It has contorted statutory language to stop immigrants from obtaining effective relief against wrongful detention and deportation.

From Slate ● Jul. 11, 2025

It cracked the top shelf, swept the beige, finger-size ceramic figurines of ballet dancers in various contorted postures to the hard floor and then landed after them.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Those people are some of Burning Man’s worst PR reps, contorting the meaning of its principles to suit themselves.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026

I have watched videos of people doing cold plunges, giving themselves ear massages and contorting themselves into impossible stretches all in the name of fixing dysregulation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

As I crouched behind a rippling fountain, stretching and contorting my body to attain the correct angle, I began to wonder, “Do the Lumineers think I’m some kind of a lunatic?”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2025

Unbeknownst to the congressman, the recent kindergarten graduate ate up the C-SPAN camera, smiling, contorting, and making faces behind his dad’s back.

From Slate ● Jun. 7, 2024

His eyes got small, and then he cried, his face contorting like a baby who hasn’t figured how his tear ducts work.

From "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom