polymorphous

American  

[pol-ee-mawr-fuhs] / ˌpɒl iˈmɔr fəs /

adjective

1. having, assuming, or passing through many or various forms, stages, or the like.

2. polymorphic.

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polymorphous British  

/ ˌpɒlɪˈmɔːfəs /

adjective

1. having, taking, or passing through many different forms or stages

2. (of a substance) exhibiting polymorphism

3. (of an animal or plant) displaying or undergoing polymorphism

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Etymology

Origin of polymorphous

First recorded in 1775–85, polymorphous is from the Greek word polýmorphos “multiform”; see poly-, -morphous

Example Sentences

To intensify the sense of dissolving boundaries, Quarles has painted her polymorphous people using different techniques.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2019

Examples of polymorphous networks whose symmetries need greater understanding include cubic halide perovskites, paramagnets and paraelectric oxides.

From Nature • Feb. 26, 2019

Yet, gazing into the eyes of the self-possessed queen Emerald, Cooper’s Maine clearly accepts the polymorphous, femme-driven future the drag bar represents; it’s one of the movie’s sharpest intertextual moments.

From Slate • Dec. 22, 2018

Ten to twenty per cent of the population in Europe and North America suffers at one time or another from polymorphous light eruption, in which exposure to ultraviolet light causes a burning or itching rash.

From The New Yorker • Sep. 19, 2016

He says that a distinction between so-called lymphocytes and the leucocytes with polymorphous nuclei, on the grounds of the form of the cell and nature of the nucleus, is not possible at the present time.

From Histology of the Blood Normal and Pathological by Myers, W.