amorphous

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adjective amor·phous \ ə-ˈmȯr-fəs \

Definition of amorphous

1 a :having no definite form :shapeless

an amorphous cloud mass

b :being without definite character or nature :unclassifiable

an amorphous segment of society

c :lacking organization or unity

an amorphous style of writing

2 :having no real or apparent crystalline form

an amorphous mineral

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amorphously

adverb

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amorphousness

noun

See amorphous defined for English-language learners

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Examples of amorphous in a Sentence

Astronomers think our solar system took shape when an amorphous interstellar cloud of dust and gas collapsed under its own weight. The conservation of angular momentum, or spin, kept some of the material from simply falling all the way to the newborn sun; instead it settled into a pancake shape. —Michael W. Werner et al., Scientific American, June 2009
Most library and academic accrediting associations either ignore weeding or have general, rather amorphous, standards. Among the more specific standards are those of the American Library Associations' 1967 public library systems standards, which suggest annual weeding of at least 5 percent of "community collections," with headquarters libraries weeding more cautiously … —LJ Special Report, 1990
A quarter of a century ago, author Betty Friedan stumbled upon a "problem that has no name."" Middle-class American women were prisoners of gilded cages, she argued, unfulfilled by their exclusive roles as wives and mother. Friedan gave the amorphous problem, and the book that described it, a name—"The Feminine Mystique"—and with it helped launch one of the most transforming social movements in modern history." —Eloise Salholz et al., Newsweek, 31 Mar. 1986
Oblivious to all the attention, the big cat calmly sashayed to a concave little hollow scooped out of an artificial granite cliff-side at the rear of her cage. There, her four sleeping, newborn cubs were nestled one atop another so tightly that they formed one amorphous lump of fur. —Jon Luoma, Audubon, November l982
an amorphous segment of society
amorphous lumps of clay magically transformed by a skilled potter's hands into works of art

Recent Examples of amorphous from the Web

Who in the numberless, amorphous readership of the world cares about you and your son?

— paul daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Doc: One and Dunn for Reds Hall," 22 Aug. 2017
And yet Likud still speaks as the underdog, as the opposition to a deep state and an amorphous elite.

— natan sachs, The Atlantic, "Benjamin Netanyahu, Perennial Underdog," 21 Aug. 2017
The noise of fans filling the space slingshots around the room, amorphous, all-encompassing.

— rafi kohan, GQ, "The Ghosts of the New Orleans Superdome," 9 Aug. 2017
Or how come one buyer loved Christopher Livingston of PC Gamer's paintings of trees, despite their resemblance to amorphous blobs of green and brown.

— meilan solly, Smithsonian, "New Video Game Parodies What it Means to Be an Art World Star," 26 July 2017
Critics and rock purists will scoff at the amorphous sounds of Twenty One Pilots, Imagine Dragons and Fall Out Boy, but each is using that sonic inventiveness to rule the charts and define modern rock.

— jason lipshutz, Billboard, "The Words, Sound & Legacy of Chester Bennington," 20 July 2017
With the GOP's failure to deliver on its years-old promise to ditch Obamacare in favor of some amorphous upgrade, the future of health care policy in America now firmly resides with the Democrats and their resurgent left.

— gregory krieg, CNN, "The Democrats actually want to 'own' health care. But not how Donald Trump means it.," 19 July 2017
The spectrum is vast and, when taken together, somewhat amorphous.

— laura entis, Fortune, "Niniane Wang: Exposing VC Justin Caldbeck Took ‘100 Hours of Work’," 18 July 2017
At the same time, Baghdadi’s death could accelerate ISIS’s evolution from a militant group holding territory in the Middle East to an amorphous terrorist organization that could strike in any place at any time.

— simon mabon, Fortune, "We’re Not Safe From ISIS Even If Its Leader Is Dead," 15 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'amorphous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.