malformed
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of malformed
First recorded in 1810–20; mal- + formed ( def. )
Explanation
Something malformed has a shape that's twisted or warped, or otherwise distorted. Your first try at making pottery might result in a couple of malformed bowls. If you leave a doll in the hot sunlight for hours, she may melt and become malformed. Sometimes parts of the body are malformed because of birth defects or accidents. If you're born with a malformed spine, you may wear a brace to straighten it out. If your feet are malformed, your choice of shoes will be limited. Malformed combines the prefix mal-, "badly or wrongly," with formed, from the Latin forma, "shape or appearance."
Vocabulary lists containing malformed
Shape Up: Form
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: mal
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: form
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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.
Eurex, part of Germany’s Deutsche Börse, said it enforces its rules and has tools to detect malformed data.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 16, 2025
The condition develops early in pregnancy when a malformed foetus is absorbed by the host twin.
From BBC • Sep. 4, 2025
It’s not fluent, it’s broken, the sounds are malformed, if you like.
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2024
"We found four more intervals with high levels of Hg concentrations and high numbers of malformed spores in the 1.3 to 2 million years following the extinction interval," explains Remco Bos.
From Science Daily • Apr. 30, 2024
One skull was larger than the rest, grotesquely malformed.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
