conformal
Americanadjective
adjective
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maths
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(of a transformation) preserving the angles of the depicted surface
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(of a parameter) relating to such a transformation
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Also called: orthomorphic. (of a map projection) maintaining true shape over a small area and scale in every direction
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Relating to the mapping of a surface or region onto another surface so that all angles between intersecting curves remain unchanged.
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Relating to a map projection in which small areas are rendered with true shape.
Etymology
Origin of conformal
First recorded in 1640–50, conformal is from the Late Latin word confōrmālis of the same shape. See con-, formal 1
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.
At this point, water displays scale invariance symmetry, and its behavior can be captured using conformal field theory.
From Science Daily • Dec. 16, 2025
“Cardy and Zamolodchikov truly are giants of conformal field theories,” says David Tong, a physicist at the University of Cambridge, UK.
From Scientific American • Sep. 15, 2023
This is accomplished by attaching a conformal piece of equipment to soldier glasses, engineered to pick up and transmit neurological responses.
From Fox News • Sep. 1, 2020
The link below http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartogram has a conformal population cartogram for the 2004 presidential election, and it's enlightening.
From New York Times • Oct. 18, 2016
As another illustration we may take the conformal representation of an equilateral triangle upon a half plane.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3 "Frost" to "Fyzabad" by Various
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.