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torcido

tor-SEE-doh/toɾˈθiðo/

crooked, twisted

Also: bent
A square picture frame hanging at a sharp angle on a plain wall.

📝 In Action

Ese cuadro en la pared está un poco torcido.

A1

That painting on the wall is a bit crooked.

La línea que dibujaste te salió torcida.

A2

The line you drew came out crooked.

El árbol creció torcido por el viento fuerte.

B1

The tree grew twisted because of the strong wind.

Word Connections

Synonyms

  • chueco (crooked (common in Latin America))
  • doblado (bent)

Antonyms

Common Collocations

  • línea torcida – crooked line
  • camino torcido – winding or twisted path

sprained, twisted

A person sitting down holding their swollen ankle with a small ice pack.

📝 In Action

No puedo caminar porque tengo el tobillo torcido.

B1

I can't walk because I have a twisted ankle.

Se quedó con el cuello torcido después de dormir mal.

B1

He ended up with a stiff/twisted neck after sleeping poorly.

Ten cuidado de no caerte o terminarás con la muñeca torcida.

B2

Be careful not to fall or you'll end up with a sprained wrist.

Word Connections

Synonyms

Common Collocations

  • tobillo torcido – twisted ankle
  • cuello torcido – stiff neck

crooked, wrong

Also: unlucky
AdjectivemB2informal
A person in a suit hiding a bag of gold coins behind their back while shaking hands.

📝 In Action

Ese político tiene un pasado muy torcido.

B2

That politician has a very crooked past.

Todo el plan se salió torcido desde el principio.

B2

The whole plan went wrong from the start.

A veces la vida te da un camino torcido.

C1

Sometimes life gives you a difficult/unlucky path.

Word Connections

Synonyms

  • corrupto (corrupt)
  • deshonesto (dishonest)

Idioms & Expressions

  • ir por el camino torcido – to live a life of crime or make bad moral choices

Translate to Spanish

Words that translate to "torcido" in Spanish:

bent→crooked→sprained→twisted→unlucky→wrong→

✏️ Quick Practice

Quick Quiz: torcido

Question 1 of 3

If you are hanging a picture and it's not straight, you would say it's:

📚 More Resources

👥 Word Family▼
🎵 Rhymes▼
📚 Etymology▼

From the Latin word 'torquere', which means 'to twist'. This is the same root that gave us the English words 'torque' and 'torture'.

First recorded: 13th century

Cognates (Related words)

English: torqueFrench: tordu

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between 'torcido' and 'chueco'?

They mean the same thing! 'Torcido' is used everywhere, while 'chueco' is extremely common in Mexico and other parts of Latin America to mean 'crooked'.

Can I use 'torcido' to describe a person's character?

Yes. Just like in English we call a criminal 'crooked,' in Spanish you can call a dishonest person 'torcido'.

Is 'torcido' also a verb?

It is the past participle (the -ed/-en form) of the verb 'torcer'. So you can use it after the word 'haber' to say 'has twisted' (ha torcido).