conform
[kuh n-fawrm]
- to act in accordance or harmony; comply (usually followed by to): to conform to rules.
- to act in accord with the prevailing standards, attitudes, practices, etc., of society or a group: One has to conform in order to succeed in this company.
- to be or become similar in form, nature, or character.
- to be in harmony or accord.
- to comply with the usages of an established church, especially the Church of England.
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- to make similar in form, nature, or character.
- to bring into agreement, correspondence, or harmony.
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- Archaic. conformable.
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Origin of conform
Synonyms
See more synonyms for conform on Thesaurus.com1. yield, agree, consent. 3. correspond, agree, tally. 7. adapt, adjust, accommodate.
Antonyms
1, 5. dissent. 3. differ.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for conform
Contemporary Examples
Certainly some people simply cannot stand to live alongside someone who does not conform to their views.
On his present trajectory, Putin shows no signs that he will conform to international legal and moral norms.
But the fun of reading Lennon is in his outright refusal to conform to expectations.
The book also refuses to conform to conventional novelistic style.
But an absence of niceties nor an unwillingness to conform is not a legitimate cause for impeachment.
Historical Examples
We are not obliged to conform to any particular set of rules.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton CampusJessie Graham Flower
If you do not conform to society, what has society done for me?
Night and Morning, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
Why can they not conform to the Church, and be plagued to them?
Micah ClarkeArthur Conan Doyle
I will show them the Holy law to which they must conform, even that which they have broken.
BunyanJames Anthony Froude
If you conform to custom, you would not say so much of a husband.
The Politician Out-WittedSamuel Low
conform
- (intr usually foll by to) to comply in actions, behaviour, etc, with accepted standards or norms
- (intr usually foll by with) to be in accordance; fit inhe conforms with my idea of a teacher
- to make or become similar in character or form
- (intr) to comply with the practices of an established church, esp the Church of England
- (tr) to bring (oneself, ideas, etc) into harmony or agreement
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French conformer, from Latin confirmāre to establish, strengthen, from firmāre to make firm, from firmus firm 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for conform
v.
mid-14c., confourmen, from Old French conformer "conform (to), agree (to), make or be similar, be agreeable" (13c.), from Latin conformare "to fashion, to form, to shape; educate; modify," from com- "together" (see com-) + formare "to form" (see form (v.)).
Sense of "to comply with the usages of the Church of England" is from 1610s; hence conformist (1630s), opposed to non-conformist or dissenter. Related: Conformance; conformed; conforming.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper