conformal
adjective
con·for·mal
kən-ˈfȯr-məl 
(ˌ)kän-
1
: leaving the size of the angle between corresponding curves unchanged
conformal transformation
2
of a map
: representing small areas in their true shape
Examples of conformal in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Interactions between particles there are governed only by a version of quantum mechanics called conformal field theory, or CFT.
—
Lyndie Chiou, Wired News, 20 Apr. 2025
In this case, the ripples follow a symmetric theory known as a conformal field theory or CFT.
—Quanta Magazine, 25 Sep. 2024
To set up conformal prediction, researchers collect a calibration set containing spectra and their true identities.
—Ambuj Tewari, The Conversation, 6 Mar. 2025
The party never stops Perhaps all this overwhelming negativity regarding the end of the Universe is what prompted Nobel laureate Roger Penrose in 2010 to propose a completely different mechanism for the long-term fate of the Universe, something dubbed conformal cyclic cosmology, or CCC.
—Paul Sutter, Ars Technica, 14 Jan. 2025
From the flat perspective, the universe is made up only of particles obeying a quantum theory known as a conformal field theory (that’s the CFT of AdS/CFT).
—Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 25 Sep. 2024
Not everything can carry over — for instance, in the number theory and function field settings, there is no counterpart to the conformal field theory ideas that enabled researchers to construct special eigensheaves in the geometric setting.
—Erica Klarreich, Quanta Magazine, 19 July 2024
In the early 1990s, Beilinson and Drinfeld showed how to use conformal field theory to build certain particularly nice eigensheaves.
—Erica Klarreich, Quanta Magazine, 19 July 2024
And so physicists have continued to study conformal field theories by looking at their associated modular forms.
—Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 9 Mar. 2023
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Lyndie Chiou, Wired News, 20 Apr. 2025
In this case, the ripples follow a symmetric theory known as a conformal field theory or CFT.
—Quanta Magazine, 25 Sep. 2024
To set up conformal prediction, researchers collect a calibration set containing spectra and their true identities.
—Ambuj Tewari, The Conversation, 6 Mar. 2025
The party never stops Perhaps all this overwhelming negativity regarding the end of the Universe is what prompted Nobel laureate Roger Penrose in 2010 to propose a completely different mechanism for the long-term fate of the Universe, something dubbed conformal cyclic cosmology, or CCC.
—Paul Sutter, Ars Technica, 14 Jan. 2025
From the flat perspective, the universe is made up only of particles obeying a quantum theory known as a conformal field theory (that’s the CFT of AdS/CFT).
—Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 25 Sep. 2024
Not everything can carry over — for instance, in the number theory and function field settings, there is no counterpart to the conformal field theory ideas that enabled researchers to construct special eigensheaves in the geometric setting.
—Erica Klarreich, Quanta Magazine, 19 July 2024
In the early 1990s, Beilinson and Drinfeld showed how to use conformal field theory to build certain particularly nice eigensheaves.
—Erica Klarreich, Quanta Magazine, 19 July 2024
And so physicists have continued to study conformal field theories by looking at their associated modular forms.
—Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 9 Mar. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Conformal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conformal. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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conformal
adjective
con·for·mal
kən-ˈfȯr-məl
(ˈ)kän-
: representing small areas in their true shape
a conformal map
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