polymorph

[pol-ee-mawrf]

See more synonyms for polymorph on Thesaurus.com

noun

Biology. an organism having more than one adult form, as the different castes in social ants.
Crystallography. any of the crystal forms assumed by a substance that exhibits polymorphism.
Anatomy. granulocyte.

Origin of polymorph

1820–30; < Greek polýmorphos; see poly-, -morph

Related formspol·y·mor·phic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for polymorphic

assorted, changeable, different, discrete, disparate, distinct, distinctive, divers, diverse, diversified, heterogeneous, individual, legion, manifold, many, many-sided, miscellaneous, mixed, motley, multifarious

Examples from the Web for polymorphic

Historical Examples of polymorphic

But it is polymorphic variability in the strictest sense of the word.
Darwin and Modern Science
A.C. Seward and Others
Passant oultre—one of Rabelais' favourite and most polymorphic expressions.
A History of the French Novel, Vol. 1
George Saintsbury
Multiform, mul′ti-form, adj. having many forms, polymorphic.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)
Various
Polymorphic species may now be regarded as the link which unites ordinary variability with the historical production of species.
Darwin and Modern Science
A.C. Seward and Others
Some of the species are polymorphic, many varieties being produced from a single batch of eggs.
The Butterfly Book
William Jacob Holland

British Dictionary definitions for polymorphic

polymorph

noun

a species of animal or plant that exhibits polymorphism
any of the crystalline forms of a chemical compound that exhibits polymorphism
Also called: polymorphonuclear leucocyte any of a group of white blood cells that have lobed nuclei and granular cytoplasm and function as phagocytes; they include neutrophils, basophils, and eosinophils

Word Origin for polymorph

C19: from Greek polumorphos having many forms

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for polymorphic

polymorph

"organism of several forms," 1828, from Greek polymorphos "of many forms" (see polymorphous).