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gether; to turn awry; to bend; to distort; to wrest. The vertebral arteries are variously contorted. Ray. Kant contorted the term category from the proper meaning of attributed. Sir W. Hamilton.

Twisted, or twisted together. "A contorted chain of icicles." Massinger.

A twisting; a writhing; wry motion; a twist; as, the contortion of the muscles of the face. Swift. All the contortions of the sibyl, without the inspiration. Burke.

One who makes or practices contortions.

Expressing contortion.

Plaited lengthwise and twisted in addition, as the bud of the morning-glory. Gray.

Pain so extreme as to cause writhing or contortions of the body, similar to those made in the athletic contests in Greece; and hence, extreme pain of mind or body; anguish; paroxysm of grief; specifically, the sufferings of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane. Being in an agony he prayed more earnestly. Luke xxii. 44.…

A contorted expression, as of the face. [R.] 'Gainst nature armed by gravity, His features too in buckle see. Churchill.

See Contortion.

nto curis or ringlets, as hair; to grow in curls or spirals, as a vine; to be crinkled or contorted; to have a curly appearance; as, leaves lie curled on the ground. Thou seest it [hair] will not curl by nature. Shak.

f the bowel, in which the process of digestion is practically completed. It is narrow and contorted, and consists of three parts, the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum.

A fantastic grimace or contortion of the body. [Obs.] Smirks and irps and all affected humors. B. Jonson .

A contorted knot in wood; a crossgrained protuberance; a nodule; a boss or projection.

Overlapping; contorted; convolute; -- applied primarily, in botany, to two opposite leaves, each of which has one edge overlapping the nearest edge of the other, and secondarily to a circle of several leaves or petals which thus overlap.

To assume a particular posture or attitude; to contort the body into artificial attitudes, as an acrobat or contortionist; also, to pose.

To wrench; to tear; to sprain; to injure by violent straining or contortion. [R.] Dryden. "Hasting to raunch the arrow out." Spenser.

era of the family Serpulidæ. They secrete a calcareous tube, which is usually irregularly contorted, but is sometimes spirally coiled. The worm has a wreath of plumelike and often bright-colored gills around its head, and usually an operculum to close the aperture of its tube when it retracts.

A smile, grin, or contortion of the face, indicative of contempt; an indirect expression or insinuation of contempt. "Who can refute a sneer" Raley.

A contortion, or twist. [Obs.] If you talk, Or pull your face into a stitch again, I shall be angry. Marston.

To strive, or to make efforts, with a twisting, or with contortions of the body.