fusiform

American  

[fyoo-zuh-fawrm] / ˈfyu zəˌfɔrm /

adjective

1. spindle-shaped; rounded and tapering from the middle toward each end, as some roots.

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fusiform British  

/ ˈfjuːzɪˌfɔːm /

adjective

1. elongated and tapering at both ends; spindle-shaped

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Other Word Forms

• subfusiform adjective

Etymology

Origin of fusiform

1740–50; < Latin fūs ( us ) spindle + -i- + -form

Example Sentences

Scientists believe that prosopagnosia is caused by a malfunctioning in a part of the brain known as the fusiform gyrus, which is part of both the occipital lobe and the temporal lobe.

From Salon • Jul. 8, 2022

She had a broad bulge that’s called a fusiform aneurysm, and a coil wouldn’t fix the rupture.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2022

Results showed higher activity in brain regions dedicated to faces, bodies and scenes, compared with the other categories surveyed in the fusiform face area, the extrastriate body area and the parahippocampal place area, respectively.

From Scientific American • Nov. 15, 2021

"Small-headed Child who Power-Lifts with #sharpie_eyes & uncircumcised fusiform fingers struggles to defend #Renoir's painting abilities on social media."

From The Verge • Oct. 12, 2015

Simple or unbranched roots are named according to their shapes— conical, when like the carrot; napiform, when like the turnip; fusiform, when like the long radish.

From The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits by Parsons, Mary Elizabeth