amorphous

[ uh-mawr-fuhs ]
See synonyms for amorphous on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. lacking definite form; having no specific shape; formless: the amorphous clouds.

  2. of no particular kind or character; indeterminate; having no pattern or structure; unorganized: an amorphous style; an amorphous personality.

  1. Petrography, Mineralogy. occurring in a mass, as without stratification or crystalline structure.

  2. Chemistry. not crystalline.

  3. Biology. having structural components that are not clearly differentiated, as the nuclear material in certain bacteria.

Origin of amorphous

1
First recorded in 1725–35, amorphous is from the Greek word ámorphos shapeless. See a-6, -morph, -ous

Other words for amorphous

Other words from amorphous

  • a·mor·phous·ly, adverb
  • a·mor·phous·ness, noun

Words Nearby amorphous

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How to use amorphous in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for amorphous

amorphous

/ (əˈmɔːfəs) /


adjective
  1. lacking a definite shape; formless

  2. of no recognizable character or type

  1. (of chemicals, rocks, etc) not having a crystalline structure

Origin of amorphous

1
C18: from New Latin, from Greek amorphos shapeless, from a- 1 + morphē shape

Derived forms of amorphous

  • amorphism, noun
  • amorphously, adverb
  • amorphousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for amorphous

amorphous

[ ə-môrfəs ]


  1. Not made of crystals. Glass, amber, and plastics are amorphous substances.

  2. Lacking definite form or shape.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.