deturpar

A rare, literary verb meaning to disfigure, corrupt, or spoil something — most often the meaning of a text, language, or work of art: un texto deturpado por los copistas. It's essentially a formal synonym of deformar or estropear, confined to academic and literary writing.

• El texto original fue deturpado por sucesivas traducciones descuidadas. — The original text was corrupted by successive careless translations.
• Los críticos señalan que la adaptación deturpa el sentido de la novela. — Critics point out that the adaptation distorts the meaning of the novel.
• Con el tiempo, muchas copias manuscritas deturparon el poema original. — Over time, many handwritten copies corrupted the original poem.

Using deturpar in everyday speech — it's a rare, bookish word almost exclusively found in academic or literary criticism; estropear or corromper is what a native speaker would actually say.

Often confused with desvirtuar.