deform

¹

[ dih-fawrm ]

verb (used with object)

1. to mar the natural form or shape of; put out of shape; disfigure:

   In cases where the drug was taken during pregnancy, its effects deformed the infants.

   Synonyms: misshape

2. to make ugly, ungraceful, or displeasing; mar the beauty of; spoil:

   The trees had been completely deformed by the force of the wind.

   Synonyms: ruin

3. to change the form of; transform.
4. Geology, Mechanics. to subject to deformation:

   The metal was deformed under stress.

verb (used without object)

1. to undergo deformation.

deform

²

[ dih-fawrm ]

adjective

, Archaic.

1. deformed; ugly.

deform

/ dɪˈfɔːm /

verb

1. to make or become misshapen or distorted
2. tr to mar the beauty of; disfigure
3. tr to subject or be subjected to a stress that causes a change of dimensions

Derived Forms

• deˈformable, adjective
• deˈformer, noun
• deˌformaˈbility, noun

Other Words From

• de·forma·ble adjective
• de·forma·bili·ty noun
• de·forma·tive adjective
• de·former noun
• unde·forma·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of deform¹

1350–1400; Middle English deformen, from Latin dēfōrmāre, equivalent to dē- de- + fōrmāre “to shape, form” ( form )

Origin of deform²

1350–1400; Middle English defo ( u ) rme < Latin dēformis, equivalent to dē- de- + -formis -form

Word History and Origins

Origin of deform¹

C15: from Latin dēformāre, from de- + forma shape, beauty

Synonym Study

See mar.

Example Sentences

But he is the first in the modern era to so avidly try to deform the desire for fairness into the destruction of American democracy—and to have an entire party apparatus behind him.

From Slate

The team's new study builds on previous experiments from the early 2000s by geologists at the University of Minnesota, who studied how small chips of ice deform when physically stressed and compressed.

From Science Daily

When high loads are applied to superelastic materials they can deform to large strains which would result in a permanent strain in conventional materials without break.

From Science Daily

"Our team was able to combine simulations and experiments to understand how to design a material that can seamlessly deform like skin and change the way electrical charges distribute inside it when it is stretched so as to stabilize radio-frequency communication," said Raudel Avila, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Rice and a lead author on the study.

From Science Daily

Beyond this crossover point, the higher temperature increases the activity of phonons -- waves of sound or heat -- within the material, and these phonons interact with dislocations in the crystalline lattice in a way that limits their ability to slip and deform.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• contort
• impair
• maim
• mangle
• mutilate
• skew