amorphous

adjective

amor·phous | \ ə-ˈmȯr-fəs

Definition of amorphous

1a : 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

Other Words from amorphous Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about amorphous

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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 on the Web

The Commerce Department is an amorphous government body tasked with promoting job creation and economic growth. — Abby Vesoulis, Time, "Elizabeth Warren Just Joined a Longtime Republican Cause," 4 June 2019 Like most women's, her set of responsibilities is amorphous. — Michelle Garcia, Glamour, "The First Lady Has a Huge Job. It’s Time She Had a Salary to Match," 3 Apr. 2019 Over the past decades, video games gradually have been turning into something more amorphous that can change over time, and can disappear forever. — Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, "Google's 'Stadia' Is the Latest Attack in the War on Games You Can Actually Own," 19 Mar. 2019 However, these marine creatures are widely known for their symmetry in shape, whereas stylophorans are amorphous and strange in physical composition. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "A 150-Year Old Weird Ancient Animal Mystery, Solved," 22 Feb. 2019 The strange implication is that the reality of the quantum world remains amorphous or indefinite until scientists start measuring. — James Gleick, New York Times, "What Does Quantum Physics Actually Tell Us About the World?," 8 May 2018 Completing the picture are amorphous swaths of color and a floating blue mask. — Judith H. Dobrzynski, WSJ, "‘Gauguin: A Spiritual Journey’ Review: Tracing a Painter’s Soul," 6 Jan. 2019 The MoTe2 shouldn't undergo the sort of crystalline/amorphous change that underlies phase-change memories, either. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Researchers make RAM from a phase change we don’t entirely understand," 18 Dec. 2018 Among them was Bernadette Corporation, a shadowy and amorphous collective that has attained cult status and which, 25 years on, continues to have influence on both aesthetic and conceptual levels. — Laird Borrelli-persson, Vogue, "Notes from the Underground: With a New Book Out, Bernadette Van-Huy Tracks Her Evolution from Bernadette Corporation to Now," 5 Nov. 2018

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.