conformity

noun con·for·mi·ty \ kən-ˈfȯr-mə-tē \

Definition of conformity

plural conformities

1 :correspondence in form, manner, or character :agreement

behaved in conformity with her beliefs

2 :an act or instance of conforming

her conformity with the latest fashions

3 :action in accordance with some specified standard or authority

conformity to social custom

conformity with the federal law and state insurance codes

See conformity defined for English-language learners

See conformity defined for kids

Examples of conformity in a Sentence

The corporate culture demands a certain conformity of appearance.
the simple lifestyle of the Amish is in conformity with their ascetic religious beliefs

Recent Examples of conformity from the Web

Conformity to theme will be the only basis of eligibility for an award.

— carol kovach, cleveland.com, "'Honoring Hometown Heroes' is North Olmsted Homecoming theme: A Place in the Sun," 21 Aug. 2017
Unfortunately, some people used this image as a way to project their ideas about gender conformity in the comments.

— alyssa hardy, Teen Vogue, "Megan Fox's Son Wore a "Frozen" Dress, and the Comments Are Deplorable," 3 Aug. 2017
On sidewalks where everyone once dressed in drab Maoist conformity, there are young women in not-quite miniskirts and teenage boys with baseball caps cocked sideways, K-pop style.

— tim sullivan, The Seattle Times, "In North Korea, a generation gap grows behind the propaganda," 29 July 2017
Conformity to an American-style empirical testing standard isn’t required, and engineers subjectively evaluate a lighting system’s efficacy.

— benjamin preston, Car and Driver, "High-Tech Headlights Could Thwart Certain Types of Crashes—If We Could Get Them in the U.S.," 20 July 2017
Under a dictatorship, leaders try to suppress the flow of ideas or demand conformity.

— The Christian Science Monitor, "Curiosity as an answer for income inequality," 20 July 2017
Ionesco’s potentially deadly penchant for repetition is rendered skillfully enough to convey the intended message about conformity’s stultifying effect without inducing it in the audience.

— philip brandes, latimes.com, "A disconcertingly timely revival of 'Rhinoceros' warns of the easy surrender to herd mentality," 19 July 2017
In tackling such questions, Tanner tells stories about ordinary people whose dreams set them questing for something more passionate and liberating than conformity and economic security—

— john powers, Vogue, "A Formerly Forgotten Filmmaker, Tailor-Made for the Age of Trump," 11 July 2017
A counter-culture icon stuck in an era of conformity.

— andy benoit, The MMQB, "The Greatest Player Who Never Was," 21 June 2017

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