morph

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noun

1
a
b
: a distinctive collocation of phones (such as a portmanteau form) that serves as the realization of more than one morpheme in a context (such as the French du for the sequence of de and le)
2
a
: a local population of a species that consists of interbreeding organisms and is distinguishable from other populations by morphology or behavior though capable of interbreeding with them
b
: a phenotypic variant of a species

morph

2 of 5

verb

morphed; morphing; morphs

transitive verb

: to change the form or character of : transform

intransitive verb

: to undergo transformation
especially : to undergo transformation from an image of one object into that of another especially by means of computer-generated animation

morph

3 of 5

abbreviation

morph-

4 of 5

combining form

variants or morpho-
1
: form
morphogenesis
2
: morpheme
morphophonemics

-morph

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noun combining form

: one having (such) a form
isomorph

Examples of morph in a Sentence

Verb The picture of a dog morphed into a picture of a cat. Using the new software, we morphed a picture of a dog into a picture of a cat. a quiet college student who has morphed into a glamorous actress He is trying to morph himself into a different person.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Online, breeders have counselled against pairing morphs that are known to result in impairments. Rebecca Giggs, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024 The first to produce a morph, and name it, gained celebrity. Rebecca Giggs, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for morph 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'morph.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

back-formation from morpheme

Verb

short for metamorphose

Combining form

German, from Greek, from morphē

Noun combining form

International Scientific Vocabulary, from -morphous

First Known Use

Noun

1947, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1982, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of morph was in 1947

Dictionary Entries Near morph

Cite this Entry

“Morph.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morph. Accessed 3 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

morph

verb
ˈmȯrf
: to change in form or character
Etymology

Verb

short for metamorphose "to change in form"

Medical Definition

morph

abbreviation

More from Merriam-Webster on morph

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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