The word 扭曲 is formed through the semantic combination of its two component characters: 扭, which means "to twist" or "to turn", and 曲, which means "bent" or "crooked". Together, they create a compound where the meaning intensifies and metaphorically extends from a literal, physical action of contorting or bending something out of shape to encompass abstract concepts of distortion, such as warping the truth or perverting facts. This formation follows a common pattern in Chinese where two verbs or adjectives with related meanings are joined to express a more specific, nuanced, or strengthened concept.