anamorphic

adjective

ana·​mor·​phic ˌa-nə-ˈmȯr-fik 

: producing, relating to, or marked by intentional distortion (as by unequal magnification along perpendicular axes) of an image

an anamorphic lens

Examples of anamorphic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The motif of shooting this show, as Alex [Kurtzman] established in the pilot, were these tight moving close-ups with these new anamorphic spherical lenses that are up in people's faces. —Jeff Spry, Space.com, 11 Mar. 2026

Khondji relied on a 360mm anamorphic Cinemascope lens to shoot not just that, but most of the film. —Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 24 Feb. 2026

For one thing, the 35mm anamorphic (widescreen) film found in the vaults did not have an attached soundtrack, because the sound is recorded separately. —John Beifuss, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 16 Feb. 2026

That includes the ultrawide lens mod, which boosts the field of view to 177 degrees, an anamorphic lens and filters, and a macro lens for beautiful close-up shots. —Brad Bourque, Wired News, 10 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

probably borrowed from French anamorphique, derivative (by analogy with other derivatives with -morphique -morphic) of anamorphose "anamorphosis (image produced by a distorting optical system)," borrowed from New Latin anamorphosis, probably from Greek ana- ana- + -morphōsis (as in metamórphōsis "transformation, metamorphosis")

Note: The New Latin word anamorphosis in reference to optical distortion was apparently introduced by the German Jesuit scientific writer Gaspar Schott (1608-66) in his Magia universalis naturae et artis (Würzburg, 1657), p. 100 ff.

First Known Use

1875, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for anamorphic

• automorphic
• geomorphic
• holomorphic
• homomorphic
• isomorphic
• meromorphic
• metamorphic
• monomorphic
• polymorphic
• anthropomorphic
• homeomorphic
• dimorphic