deform

[dih-fawrm]

verb (used with object)

to mar the natural form or shape of; put out of shape; disfigure: In cases where the drug was taken during pregnancy, its effects deformed the infants.

to make ugly, ungraceful, or displeasing; mar the beauty of; spoil: The trees had been completely deformed by the force of the wind.

to change the form of; transform.

Geology, Mechanics. to subject to deformation: The metal was deformed under stress.

verb (used without object)

to undergo deformation.

Origin of deform

1350–1400; Middle English deformen < Latin dēfōrmāre, equivalent to dē- de- + fōrmāre to form

Related formsde·form·a·ble, adjectivede·form·a·bil·i·ty, nounde·form·a·tive, adjectivede·form·er, nounun·de·form·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms for deform

1. misshape. See mar. 2. ruin.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for deformable

deform

verb

to make or become misshapen or distorted

(tr) to mar the beauty of; disfigure

(tr) to subject or be subjected to a stress that causes a change of dimensions

Derived Formsdeformable, adjectivedeformability, noundeformer, noun

Word Origin for deform

C15: from Latin dēformāre, from de- + forma shape, beauty

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

Word Origin and History for deformable

deform

c.1400, "to disfigure," from Old French deformer (13c.), from Latin deformare "put out of shape, disfigure," from de- (see de-) + formare (see form (v.)). Related: Deformed; deforming.