formless

American  

[fawrm-lis] / ˈfɔrm lɪs /

adjective

1. lacking a definite or regular form or shape; shapeless.

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formless British  

/ ˈfɔːmlɪs /

adjective

1. without a definite shape or form; amorphous

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Other Word Forms

• formlessness
  noun
• formlessly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of formless

First recorded in 1585–95; form + -less

Explanation

Something formless either has no definite shape, like fog or smoke, or lacks structure, like a formless movie that doesn't seem to have much of a plot. You can use this adjective to describe things that are physically vague and shapeless, from formless crowds of people surging forward at a rock concert or the formless, ghost-like shapes in your dark basement. It's also good for things like songs, poems, ideas, or concepts that are unstructured or incoherent and hard to make sense of.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

formless

There’s a wicked irony in micromanaging your entire life on Earth only to croak and have your soul potentially jettisoned to some formless state of being, entirely unknown to mere mortals.

From Salon ● Nov. 27, 2025

The arias and duets, which are almost always slowly paced and formless, lack that visceral, theatrical punch and do not musically distinguish one character from another.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2025

It’s like this formless, invisible gas that’s going to find you wherever you are, and so escaping it is pretty futile.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2025

The defining complaint about the sacked Dutchman was that after two-and-a-bit seasons the football was still formless and the tactical direction indecipherable.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2024

In the watery moonlight, the island’s volcano was a formless monster wearing a halo of thin gray clouds.

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray