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

This is a book of endless storytelling, as characters contort themselves to please the regime’s shifting narratives.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 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

I grab my collar and try to contort my neck to see it.

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

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

We can literally see it in the shape of the jet stream, which now regularly contorts into deeper waves than it did just a few decades ago.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2025

Throughout every production, Curry contorts his voice for each character Man, Mooncakes and Monet meet.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 24, 2024

He contorts in a very peaceful, very holy way I think it’s the first chance in a long time the father’s had to say thank you.

From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak

There is so much that the public doesn’t know, and even more that can be contorted by disinformation and colloquial slang, making these important subjects the butt of the joke.

From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2026

Yu Ji’s cement sculptures take the shape of contorted human bodies—not uncomfortable but limberly twisted and folded—that are missing limbs; their contrasting materials and postures at once suggest permanence and evanescence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 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

His hands covering his face, his body all contorted, repeating, “Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!”

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

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

But first and foremost, Bad Omens are gifted musicians, and whatever eldritch magic Sebastian wields onstage will always be bolstered by a serious band contorting metal, dark pop and electronic music.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026

In recent years, women have posted videos of their faces contorting in pain during an IUD removal or insertion to demonstrate how painful they are.

From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2024

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

At times, I feel like my body is folding on itself, contorting in the weirdest ways as the ground chews us up.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer