formless

American  

[fawrm-lis] / ˈfɔrm lɪs /

adjective

1. lacking a definite or regular form or shape; shapeless.

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formless British  

/ ˈfɔːmlɪs /

adjective

1. without a definite shape or form; amorphous

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Other Word Forms

• formlessly
  adverb
• formlessness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of formless

First recorded in 1585–95; form + -less

Explanation

Something formless either has no definite shape, like fog or smoke, or lacks structure, like a formless movie that doesn't seem to have much of a plot. You can use this adjective to describe things that are physically vague and shapeless, from formless crowds of people surging forward at a rock concert or the formless, ghost-like shapes in your dark basement. It's also good for things like songs, poems, ideas, or concepts that are unstructured or incoherent and hard to make sense of.

Example Sentences

Current protesters should emulate that dignity and power, not fall into formless jeering and harassment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026

Like Anne, we try to grasp this nameless, formless feeling before it drifts away.

From Salon • May 2, 2025

It’s like this formless, invisible gas that’s going to find you wherever you are, and so escaping it is pretty futile.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2025

The storm may not be over, but after a messy, formless start to life at Old Trafford we finally have evidence that a hard-pressing, direct and tactically coherent United is possible.

From BBC • Jan. 9, 2025

But as time passed and the game progressed, Set’s face hardened and cracked into a wicked leer, and it became clear that his strange, sunken, formless body was the very shape of evil.

From "The Egypt Game" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder