zoomorphic

American  

[zoh-uh-mawr-fik] / ˌzoʊ əˈmɔr fɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to a deity or other being conceived of as having the form of an animal.

2. characterized by a highly stylized or conventionalized representation of animal forms.

3. representing or using animal forms.

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Other Word Forms

• zoomorph noun

Etymology

Origin of zoomorphic

First recorded in 1870–75; zoo- + -morphic

Example Sentences

According to Megan Catherine Rose, an Australian researcher who studies the aesthetics and sociology of creepy-cute zoomorphic cyberpets, the toy’s strange design is part of what made the original Furby so memorable.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2023

A Unesco world heritage site since 1994, the Nazca Lines, which are made up of hundreds of geometric and zoomorphic images, were created by removing rocks and earth to reveal the contrasting materials below.

From The Guardian • Oct. 18, 2020

“The oldest surviving example of zoomorphic architecture on Earth,” boasted her human handler and lifelong cheerleader, Richard Helfant.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 27, 2020

I’m staring at a creature that shouldn’t exist, a zoomorphic mashup of anatomical incongruities.

From Time • Jun. 1, 2016

It is worthy of remark that a mythology with its religion subject to the influences of an overwhelming civilization yields first in its zoomorphic elements.

From Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1885-1886, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891 by Powell, John Wesley