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ill-formed

[il-fawrmd]
See more synonyms for ill-formed on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. badly formed.
  2. Linguistics. not conforming to the rules of a given language; ungrammatical (opposed to well-formed).
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Origin of ill-formed

First recorded in 1665–75
Related formsill-form·ed·ness [il-fawr-mid-nis, -fawrmd-] /ˈɪlˈfɔr mɪd nɪs, -ˈfɔrmd-/, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

ill-formeddeformedunmadeabnormalamorphousanomalousbaggyembryonicinchoateindefiniteindeterminateindistinctinvisibleirregularmalformedmisshapennebulousundevelopedunformedungraceful

Examples from the Web for ill-formed

Historical Examples

  • But our arms, shoulders, and chests are ill-formed and weak.

    The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 10, No. 58, August, 1862

    Various

  • He was a fine big fellow; I have always been heavy and ill-formed.

    Ten Tales

    Franois Coppe

  • This he said with an ill-formed, crude idea which sprang to his mind at the moment.

    Cousin Henry

    Anthony Trollope

  • He was weak and ill-formed at his birth, so that even his mother despised him.

    Nero

    Jacob Abbott

  • The object bore some resemblance to a string of ill-formed sausages.

    The White Chief

    Mayne Reid