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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “distort”

“distort” is pronounced /dɪˈstɔɹt/ (di-STAWRT) in American English and /dɪstɔːt/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “tort”.
The sound

Say “distort” in 2 beats

Say it like this

distort

/dɪˈstɔɹt/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /dɪstɔːt/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

2 beats
  1. disdɪ
  2. tortstɔɹtstress
IPA (American)
/dɪˈstɔɹt/
IPA (British)
/dɪstɔːt/
Respelling
di-STAWRT
Syllables
2 — dis-TORT
Stress
Stress the second syllable: dis-TORT. “tort” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/dɪˈstɔɹt/

British

/dɪstɔːt/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “distort” means

  1. verb

    make false by mutilation or addition; as of a message or story

  2. verb

    form into a spiral shape

    “The cord is all twisted”

  3. verb

    twist and press out of shape

Say it in a sentence

“A cheap lens will distort the edges of the photograph.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ddɪshort isstt×2ɔawɹr

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“distort”, answered

How do you pronounce “distort”?

“distort” is pronounced /dɪˈstɔɹt/ (di-STAWRT) in American English and /dɪstɔːt/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “tort”. Build it as dis-TORT, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “distort” have?

2: dis · tort. The beat lands on the second, “tort”.

Is “distort” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /dɪˈstɔɹt/ (di-STAWRT); British English says /dɪstɔːt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “distort” mean?

As a verb: make false by mutilation or addition; as of a message or story For example: “A cheap lens will distort the edges of the photograph.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “distort”?

Stress the second syllable: dis-TORT. “tort” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

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