amorphous
Americanadjective
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lacking definite form; having no specific shape; formless.
the amorphous clouds.
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of no particular kind or character; indeterminate; having no pattern or structure; unorganized.
an amorphous style; an amorphous personality.
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Petrography, Mineralogy. occurring in a mass, as without stratification or crystalline structure.
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Chemistry. not crystalline.
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Biology. having structural components that are not clearly differentiated, as the nuclear material in certain bacteria.
adjective
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lacking a definite shape; formless
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of no recognizable character or type
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(of chemicals, rocks, etc) not having a crystalline structure
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Not made of crystals. Glass, amber, and plastics are amorphous substances.
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Lacking definite form or shape.
Other Word Forms
- amorphism noun
- amorphously adverb
- amorphousness noun
Etymology
Origin of amorphous
First recorded in 1725–35, amorphous is from the Greek word ámorphos shapeless. See a- 6, -morph, -ous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Another more amorphous change is the culture…the new Boeing sounds a lot more like what Airbus would call humble, and that is no bad thing.”
From Barron's
Musically inclined, Douglas and James both spend time at the keyboard, accompanying themselves on songs that give form to their amorphous inner lives.
From Los Angeles Times
This amorphous metal is highly unstable and exists only as long as the stationary atoms continue to confine it.
From Science Daily
What started as a serious but short-lived spike in inflation from 2021 to 2023 has evolved into something broader and more amorphous.
“There’s barely a right angle on the entire property. Everything’s amorphous in shape.”
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
