twisted

The word “twisted” means bent, wound, or contorted out of its natural shape. In plain terms, physically bent out of shape, or figuratively disturbed and perverse.

“Twisted” is pronounced TWIHS-tihd (/ˈtwɪstɪd/ in IPA).

Here is “twisted” used in a sentence: “The car's twisted metal frame showed the force of the crash.”

“Twisted” is an adjective.

The word “twisted” dates back to around 1800. From the verb twist; the literal "bent out of shape" sense came first, and the "mentally disturbed" sense developed by the early 1800s.

“Twisted” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Twisted” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: bent, wound, or contorted out of its natural shape.

A "twisted ankle" is an everyday phrase for turning or rolling the ankle awkwardly, describing how the injury happened. A "sprained ankle" is the more specific result: stretched or torn ligaments in the joint. A twist often causes a sprain, so the two phrases are frequently used for the same injury.

Both use a distorted, bent-out-of-shape image to describe a disturbing or morally wrong mind. "Twisted" suggests something perverse or cruel, while "warped" suggests thinking that has been bent away from what is normal or healthy. They overlap heavily and are often interchangeable in this sense.

In the literal sense, "twisted" means turned or wound out of shape around an axis, while "bent" means curved or angled out of a straight line. Figuratively, both can imply something is not right, though "twisted" leans toward disturbing or perverse and "bent" often implies corruption or dishonesty.