noun
-
a deformed condition; disfigurement
-
pathol an acquired or congenital distortion of an organ or part
-
a deformed person or thing
-
a defect, esp of the mind or morals; depravity
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of deformity
1350–1400; Middle English deformite < Old French < Latin dēfōrmitās, equivalent to dēfōrm ( is ) deform 2 + -itās -ity
Explanation
A deformity happens when a body part is misshapen. A deformity can also be a change for the worse in something's appearance. A two-headed kitten has a deformity. Usually a deformity is the result of an accident or a genetic defect. Although most people want to avoid deformities, in the novel Geek Love by Katherine Dunn (1989), the mother of a circus family takes drugs while she’s pregnant, hoping to cause deformities in her children. She succeeds with her son Arturo, who has flippers instead of arms and legs. In his world, people with regular arms and legs have the deformity.
Vocabulary lists containing deformity
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.
See Examples For:
O’Connor’s South—influenced as much by Hawthorne as by Faulkner—is a metaphysical realm of spiritual deformity and, at moments, shocking prophetic insight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Blessed in courage, intellect, imagination and style, Cyrano is cursed by a physical deformity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2024
I'm thinking of the anecdote in your book where Alfie was seemingly unaware of her own deformity while flapping around with her partially formed feathers.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2023
Hikari Oe had a cranial deformity at birth that caused mental disability.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 13, 2023
“Begone! I do break my promise; never will I create another like yourself, equal in deformity and wickedness.”
From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
This novel centers on Pothivelu Pandaram, a hustling businessman in southern India whose trade consists of managing men and women with physical deformities who beg outside temples.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
Her son, Vicente Giron Sarria, had been diagnosed with facial deformities, and Lakatos began joining Blanco and her partner at every meeting with the craniofacial team.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2025
"It is very similar to people getting vaccinated to fight against various diseases. There is no report that it causes deformities or alters DNA," the academic told the BBC.
From BBC ● Jan. 27, 2025
The third cluster usually presented with spinal deformities, which may require the standard decompression procedure and possible further spine surgeries.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 18, 2024
Presumably the human embryo deprived of oxygen may also develop congenital deformities.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
