deformation

[ dee-fawr-mey-shuhn, def-er- ]

noun

1. the act of deforming; deform; distortion; disfigurement.
2. the result of deforming; deform; change of form, especially for the worse.
3. an altered form.
4. Geology, Mechanics. a change in the shape or dimensions of a body, resulting from stress; strain.

Other Words From

• defor·mation·al adjective
• nonde·for·mation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of deformation¹

1400–50; late Middle English deformacioun < Latin dēfōrmātiōn- (stem of dēfōrmātiō ), equivalent to dēfōrmāt ( us ) (past participle of dēfōrmāre; deform ¹ ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

He’s worried about what this land deformation could mean for the house on the lot, which he co-owns with his 80-year-old mother, Ann Bellis.

From Los Angeles Times

“There would be earthquakes galore and ground deformation. It wouldn’t be a single feature that had an explosion — there would be changes all over the place.”

From Los Angeles Times

CLCEs are flexible materials capable of structural color changes, while DEAs induce flexible deformation of dielectrics in response to electrical stimuli.

From Science Daily

Now, a study by MIT scientists offers a new picture of glacier flow, based on microscopic deformation in the ice.

From Science Daily

They used this relationship between micro- and macro-scale deformation to develop a new model for how glaciers flow.

From Science Daily

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