ill-formed

[ il-fawrmd ]

adjective

1. badly formed.
2. Linguistics. not conforming to the rules of a given language; ungrammatical ( well-formed ).

Other Words From

• ill-form·ed·ness [il, -, fawr, -mid-nis, -, fawrmd, -], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ill-formed¹

First recorded in 1665–75

Example Sentences

It's questionable that he could get fence-sitters to believe his lies about Harris, as ill-formed and lazy as his insults are.

From Salon

In that role, "The View" is channeling large swaths of the public's thoughts, intuitions and moods – however vague and ill-formed those thoughts and feelings may be.

From Salon

We’ve learned a lot in a quarter century — none of which appears to be present in the editorial board’s thinking or legislators’ ill-formed bills.

From Seattle Times

It’s that Chazelle, a director of impressive chops and a writer of often hasty, ill-formed ideas, isn’t strong enough to make those movies breathe as one.

From Los Angeles Times

In effect, the political institutions and the very authority of the federal government were too new and ill-formed to cope effectively with the foreign and domestic challenges facing the new nation.

From Literature