-morphic

1. variant of -morphous:

   anthropomorphic.

Word History and Origins

Origin of -morphic¹

-morph + -ic

Example Sentences

For example, philosopher Daniel Dennett, commenting on Conway’s invention in the Times, points out that Life’s “higher-order patterns” emerge from processes that are “completely unmysterious and explicable.... No psionic fields, no morphic resonances, no élan vital, no dualism.”

From Scientific American

No psionic fields, no morphic resonances, no élan vital, no dualism.

From New York Times

Some short-sellers, including Carson Block of Muddy Waters, Josh Strauss of Appleseed Capital and Chad Slater of Morphic Asset Management, argue share prices can be bolstered by corporate misrepresentation about sustainability, or so-called “greenwashing”.

From Reuters

Morphic’s joint chief investment officer Slater said the Sydney-based money manager’s standalone short positions in its Trium Morphic ESG long-short fund had weighed on the portfolio over the past 12 months.

From Reuters

When self-help author Marianne Williamson appeared on the presidential debate stage last month, Twitter users delighted in unearthing her old comments about vibrations and “morphic” fields.

From Seattle Times

Words That Use -morphic

What does -morphic mean?

The combining form –morphic is used like a suffix meaning “having the shape, form, or structure.” It is occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in biology.

The form –morphic comes from a combination of two forms. The first is –morph, from Greek –morphos, meaning “shape.” The second is the suffix –ic, from Greek –ikos or Latin –icus, both meaning “having some characteristics of.”

What are variants of –morphic?

In some terms, the form –morphic becomes –morphous, as in polymorphous. Additional related combining forms include morph–, morpho–, and –morphism. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles on all four combining forms.

Examples of -morphic

An example of a scientific term you may have encountered that features –morphic is metamorphic, “pertaining to or characterized by change of form, or metamorphosis.”

The combining form meta–, from Greek, has a variety of meanings, including “beyond.” The form –morphic means “having the shape, form, or structure.” Metamorphic therefore roughly means “beyond a shape, form, or structure.”

What are some words that use the combining form –morphic?

• anisomorphic
• automorphic
• dimorphic
• idiomorphic (using the equivalent form of –morphic in Greek)
• xenomorphic
• zoomorphic

What are some other forms that –morphic may be commonly confused with?

• -mony
• -most
• -mycin

Break it down!

The combining form zoo– means “animal.” With this in mind, what does zoomorphic mean?