polymorphous
Americanadjective
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having, assuming, or passing through many or various forms, stages, or the like.
adjective
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having, taking, or passing through many different forms or stages
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(of a substance) exhibiting polymorphism
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(of an animal or plant) displaying or undergoing polymorphism
Etymology
Origin of polymorphous
First recorded in 1775–85, polymorphous is from the Greek word polýmorphos “multiform”; see poly-, -morphous
Vocabulary lists containing polymorphous
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.
On her canvases, polymorphous, shape-shifting figures collide and intertwine; heads multiply; limbs get entangled with each other.
From New York Times ● Jul. 5, 2023
To intensify the sense of dissolving boundaries, Quarles has painted her polymorphous people using different techniques.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2019
Databases must be expanded to include the effects of polymorphous structures, defects, magnetism and doping on the basic symmetries of compounds.
From Nature ● Feb. 26, 2019
Yet, gazing into the eyes of the self-possessed queen Emerald, Cooper’s Maine clearly accepts the polymorphous, femme-driven future the drag bar represents; it’s one of the movie’s sharpest intertextual moments.
From Slate ● Dec. 22, 2018
Selecting the British genera which include the most polymorphous forms, it appears that Babington's Flora gives them 251 species, Bentham's only 112, a difference of 139 doubtful forms.
From Darwiniana; Essays and Reviews Pertaining to Darwinism by Gray, Asa
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.
