formless
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of formless
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The arias and duets, which are almost always slowly paced and formless, lack that visceral, theatrical punch and do not musically distinguish one character from another.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2025
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
They think of the cortex as a chamber holding a formless cloud or jelly driven by a mysterious "vital force."
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
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.
