deform
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
-
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
-
to change the form of; transform.
-
Geology, Mechanics. to subject to deformation.
The metal was deformed under stress.
verb (used without object)
adjective
verb
-
to make or become misshapen or distorted
-
(tr) to mar the beauty of; disfigure
-
(tr) to subject or be subjected to a stress that causes a change of dimensions
Related Words
See mar.
Other Word Forms
- deformability noun
- deformable adjective
- deformative adjective
- deformer noun
- undeformable adjective
Etymology
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
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.
The usual explanation is that surfaces deform slightly under pressure, creating more microscopic contact points that increase resistance.
From Science Daily
This alloy softens and deforms at relatively low temperatures — around 500 F — well below the intensity of a typical house fire.
From Los Angeles Times
When many nucleons participate in these coordinated transitions, the nucleus becomes strongly deformed.
From Science Daily
More than a dozen countries took part in the weeks-long search for the vessel, which was eventually located a year later by a private British marine robotics firm, its hull dented and deformed.
From Barron's
"Similar to how cephalopods coordinate body shape and skin patterning, the synthetic smart skin can simultaneously control what it looks like and how it deforms, all within a single, soft material," Sun said.
From Science Daily
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.
