deform

de·form

verb \di-ˈfȯrm, dē-\

Definition of DEFORM

transitive verb

1

: to spoil the form of

2

a : to spoil the looks of : disfigure <a face deformed by bitterness> b : to mar the character of <a marriage deformed by jealousy>

3

: to alter the shape of by stress

intransitive verb

: to become misshapen or changed in shape

— de·form·able \-mə-bəl\ adjective

Examples of DEFORM

1. The disease eventually deforms the bones.
2. The disease eventually causes the bones to deform.

Origin of DEFORM

Middle English, from Anglo-French or Latin; Anglo-French desfurmer, from Latin deformare, from de- + formare to form, from forma form

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to DEFORM

Synonyms: contort, distort, misshape, screw, squinch, torture, warp

Related Words: deface, disfigure; wrench, wrest, wring; coil, curl, loop, spiral, twine, wind, wreathe

Near Antonyms: straighten, unbend, uncurl

[+]more[-]hide

Synonym Discussion of DEFORM

deform, distort, contort, warp means to mar or spoil by or as if by twisting. deform may imply a change of shape through stress, injury, or some accident of growth <his face was deformed by hatred>. distort and contort both imply a wrenching from the natural, normal, or justly proportioned, but contort suggests a more involved twisting and a more grotesque and painful result <the odd camera angle distorts the figure in the photograph> <disease had painfully contorted her body>. warp indicates physically an uneven shrinking that bends or twists out of a flat plane <warped floorboards>.

Rhymes with DEFORM

art form, aswarm, barnstorm, brainstorm, by-form, by storm, conform, Delorme, dust storm, firestorm, free-form, hailstorm, ice storm, inform, L-form, landform, life-form, line storm, lukewarm, perform, planform, platform, preform, rainstorm, re-form, reform, sandstorm, slip form, snowstorm, transform, triform, waveform, windstorm