| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | bending in a shape or course |
| Synonyms: | arc, arch, bend, bow, buckle, bulge, coil, concave, convex, crook, crumple, curl, deviate, divert, gyrate, hook, incurve, inflect, loop, round, skew, snake, spiral, stoop, swerve, turn, twist, veer, wind, wreathe |
| Antonyms: | straighten |
| Main Entry: | bow |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | bend over |
| Synonyms: | arch, bob, cower, crook, curtsy, curve, debase, dip, do obeisance, droop, duck, genuflect, hunch, incline, nod, round, stoop |
| Main Entry: | circle |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | go around, circumnavigate |
| Synonyms: | begird, belt, cincture, circuit, circulate, circumduct, circumscribe, coil, compass, curve, embrace, encircle, enclose, encompass, ensphere, envelop, gird, girdle, gyrate, gyre, hem in, loop, mill around, pivot, revolve, ring, roll, rotate, round, spiral, surround, tour, wheel, whirl, wind about |
| Main Entry: | contort |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | disfigure, distort |
| Synonyms: | bend, convolute, curve, deform, gnarl, knot, misshape, torture, twist, warp, wind, wrench, writhe |
| Antonyms: | beautify, smooth |
| Main Entry: | crook |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | bend, angle |
| Synonyms: | bow, curve, flex, fork, hook, meander, notch, round, slither, snake, wind, zigzag |
| Antonyms: | straighten |
| Main Entry: | curl |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | bend, loop |
| Synonyms: | buckle, coil, contort, convolute, corkscrew, crimp, crinkle, crisp, crook, curve, entwine, fold, form into ringlets, frizz, indent, kink, lap, meander, ringlet, ripple, roll, scallop, snake, spiral, swirl, turn, twine, twirl, twist, undulate, wave, wind, wreathe, writhe, zigzag |
| Antonyms: | straighten |
| Main Entry: | deflect |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | bounce off; turn aside |
| Synonyms: | avert, bend, cover up, curve, deviate, disperse, diverge, divert, fend, glance off, hold off, hook, keep off, parry, pivot, ricochet, sheer, shy, sidetrack, slew, slip, swerve, twist, veer, volte-face, wheel, whip, whirl, wind |
| Main Entry: | distort |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | deform; falsify |
| Synonyms: | alter, angle, belie, bend, bias, buckle, change, collapse, color, con, contort, crush, curve, deceive, decline, deteriorate, deviate, disfigure, doctor*, fake, fudge, garble, gnarl, knot, lie, make out like, mangle, melt, misconstrue, misinterpret, misrepresent, misshape, pervert, phony up, put one on, sag, scam*, slant, slump, snow*, torture, trump up, twist, warp, whitewash, wind, wrench, writhe |
| Antonyms: | beautify, shape nicely, straight |
| Main Entry: | flex |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | bend |
| Synonyms: | angle, contract, crook, curve, lean, mold, ply, spring, stretch, tighten, tilt, yield |
| Antonyms: | be stiff, extend, straighten |