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ting, or twisting out of natural or regular shape; a twisting or writhing motion; as, the distortions of the face or body.

Paralysis of the facial nerve, producing distortion of one side of the face.

resembling a small boot furnished with straps, buckles, etc., used to correct or prevent distortions in the lower extremities of children. Dunglison.

tructure into triangular parts. It may act as a tie, or as a strut, and serves to prevent distortion of the structure, and transverse strains in its members. A boiler brace is a diagonal stay, connecting the head with the shell.

A distortion bulge, bend, or kink, as in a saw blade or a plate of sheet metal. Knight.

An exaggeration, or distortion by exaggeration, of parts or characteristics, as in a picture.

The obtaining of property from another by an intentional active distortion of the truth.

he state of being deformed; want of proper form or symmetry; any unnatural form or shape; distortion; irregularity of shape or features; ugliness. To make an envious mountain on my back, Where sits deformity to mock my body. Shak.

Causing distortion.

e, as the air, steam, and other gases and vapors. -- Elastic limit (Mech.), the limit of distortion, by bending, stretching, etc., that a body can undergo and yet return to its original form when relieved from stress; also, the unit force or stress required to produce this distortion. Within the elastic limit the dist…

The small distortion of an astronomical instrument caused by the weight of its parts; the amount to be added or substracted from the observed readings of the instrument to correct them for this distortion. The flexure of a curve (Math.), the bending of a curve towards or from a straight line.

A distortion of the countenance, whether habitual, from affectation, or momentary aad occasional, to express some feeling, as contempt, disapprobation, complacency, etc.; a smirk; a made-up face. Moving his face into such a hideons grimace, that every feature of it appeared under a different distortion. Addison.…

. In addition there may be wasting of the muscles, falling out of the hair and nails, and distortion of the hands and feet with destruction of the bones and joints. It is incurable, and is probably contagious.Mycobacterium leprae, curable in most cases by therapy with a combination of antibiotics, but cases resistant t…

, expressed by the ratio of a stress on a given unit of the substance to the accompanying distortion, or strain. (b) An expression of the force (usually in terms of the height in feet or weight in pounds of a column of the same body) which would be necessary to elongate a prismatic body of a transverse section equal to…

ne sick of the palsy." Mark ii. 3. Bell's palsy, paralysis of the facial nerve, producing distortion of one side of the face; -- so called from Sir Charles Bell, an English surgeon who described it. -- Scrivener's palsy. See Writer's cramp, under Writer. -- Shaking palsy, paralysis agitans, a disease usually occurrin…

The act of wresting; a wrench; a violent twist; hence, distortion; perversion. Hooker.

ted; perverted. He . . . puts a wry sense upon Protestant writers. Atterbury. Wry face, a distortion of the countenance indicating impatience, disgust, or discomfort; a grimace.