cruciform

American  

[kroo-suh-fawrm] / ˈkru səˌfɔrm /

adjective

1. being in the shape of a cross; cross-shaped.

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noun

1. a cross.

cruciform British  

/ ˈkruːsɪˌfɔːm /

adjective

1. shaped like a cross

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noun

1. a geometric curve, shaped like a cross, that has four similar branches asymptotic to two mutually perpendicular pairs of lines. Equation: x ² y ² – a ² x ² – a ² y ² = 0, where x = y = ± a are the four lines

Other Word Forms

• cruciformity noun
• cruciformly adverb
• noncruciform adjective
• noncruciformly adverb
• subcruciform adjective

Etymology

Origin of cruciform

1655–65; < Latin cruci- (stem of crux ) cross + -form

Example Sentences

She had been posed in a cruciform shape with her arms outstretched.

From BBC • Feb. 2, 2026

Leigh’s version employs a cruciform bust of a woman instead.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2024

The cruciform brick church, with a large circular window over its entrance, sits in a quiet church graveyard shaded by enormous live oaks and magnolias.

From Washington Post • Nov. 5, 2021

Mapplethorpe placed Warhol’s face in the center of a cruciform frame and encircled his head with a saintly glow, while Warhol saturated Mapplethorpe’s image in a deep, devilish red.

From New York Times • Dec. 25, 2015

They crowd the mantel and are baked into loaves of cruciform tsoureki.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides