multiform

American  

[muhl-tuh-fawrm] / ˈmʌl təˌfɔrm /

adjective

1. having many different shapes, forms, or kinds.

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multiform British  

/ ˌmʌltɪˈfɔːmɪtɪ, ˈmʌltɪˌfɔːm /

adjective

1. having many forms or kinds

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Other Word Forms

• multiformity noun

Etymology

Origin of multiform

From the Latin word multiformis, dating back to 1595–1605. See multi-, -form

Explanation

If you describe something as multiform, it can exist in many forms. By its nature, a transformer toy that can double as a car and as a robot can be called multiform. Many illnesses are multiform, like cancer, because they come in all different types with all sorts of symptoms and characteristics. But good things can be multiform as well; think of the multiform Hindu deity Vishnu with ten different avatars that range from a fish to a boar to a tortoise.

Example Sentences

He interprets one multiform category, “Monster,” from an original angle — the creature’s physical characteristics.

From Washington Post • Nov. 30, 2021

It explained that the Central Area was riddled with problems “so multiform, so complex, that individuals become lost and confused in this ‘urban jungle’ of social disorder and decay.”

From Seattle Times • Jul. 16, 2021

Tokarczuk’s approach, like Melville’s, is encyclopedic and multiform.

From The New Yorker • Sep. 24, 2018

ET12:24 A check-in with the University of Florida’ election analyst Michael McDonald on that other primary race and its multiform competitors.

From The Guardian • Nov. 19, 2015

Air! and ye Elements! the eldest Birth Of Nature's womb, that in Quaternion run Perpetual Circle, multiform, and mix And nourish all things, let your ceaseless Change Vary to our great Maker still new Praise.

From Benjamin Franklin Representative selections, with introduction, bibliograpy, and notes by Jorgenson, Chester E.