misshapen
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of misshapen
1350–1400; Middle English: past participle of misshape; see -en 3
Explanation
Something that has an abnormal form or shape is misshapen. For example, you might find an old misshapen Barbie, with messy hair and missing limbs, at the bottom of a toy chest. Things that are so malformed or distorted that they look weird or ugly are misshapen. Ballet dancers sometimes end up with misshapen feet after years of cramming them into pointe shoes, and when you grow your own vegetables in your back yard, you often end up with misshapen ones that taste delicious. Misshapen comes from the Old English roots mis, "wrong," and scapan, "to create or form."
Vocabulary lists containing misshapen
Wonder
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Number the Stars
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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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.
Misshapen iron rods jut out of what’s left of houses they were designed to fortify.
From Washington Times • Dec. 9, 2020
Misshapen with skin blemishes, the ugly ducklings end up in landfills or go to food banks if they’re lucky.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 5, 2018
Misshapen potatoes, multi-pronged carrots and past-their-prime apples — rebranded as “cosmetically challenged” and “beautiful in their own way” — are coming into vogue.
From Washington Post • May 22, 2015
Misshapen, wonky vegetables, like this green bell pepper, will no longer be left on the shelf.
From The Guardian • Sep. 27, 2012
Misshapen from my birth-hour, how could I delude myself with the idea that intellectual gifts might veil physical deformity in a young girl's fantasy!
From The Scarlet Letter by Foote, Mary Hallock
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.
