deform

verb de·form \ di-ˈfȯrm , dē- \

|Updated on: 26 Jul 2018

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Examples: deform in a Sentence

Definition of deform

transitive verb

1 : to spoil the form of

2 a : to spoil the looks of : disfigure

a face deformed by bitterness

b : to mar the character of

a marriage deformed by jealousy

3 : to alter the shape of by stress

intransitive verb

: to become misshapen or changed in shape

—

deformable

play \-mə-bəl\ adjective

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Examples of deform in a Sentence

The disease eventually deforms the bones.
The disease eventually causes the bones to deform.

Recent Examples of deform from the Web

These viruses can paralyze bees, deform their wings or directly attack their young.

— kevin davenport, idahostatesman, "Why are these 250,000 bees hanging out on this sweet Downtown Boise rooftop?," 11 July 2018
The list of pathogens carried by bees includes fungal infections and wing-deforming viruses, many of which get moved around with international trade.

— thor hanson, WSJ, "The Plight of the Humble Bee," 29 June 2018
The seismic waves from a nearby earthquake will deform the cable minutely, leaving the returning light slightly out of phase with the light emitted by the laser.

— The Economist, "Submarine cables could be repurposed as earthquake detectors," 16 June 2018
The vitamin A then gets recycled and reshaped, ready to be deformed by light once again.

— eric boodman, STAT, "After nerve-wracking eye surgery, the world comes into focus for early gene therapy recipient," 17 May 2018
To make a giant mirror that wouldn’t deform under its own weight, the TMT’s partners looked for inspiration in a fly’s eye, fragmenting the main 30-meter mirror into nearly 500 small, 1.4-meter hexagonal pieces, each individually adjustable.

— eric hand, Science | AAAS, "Rival giant telescopes join forces to seek U.S. funding," 21 May 2018
In Norilsk, hundreds of residential buildings are visibly deformed because of ground thaw, according to the municipal government’s last count in 2015.

— bridget alex, Discover Magazine, "Something Stirs: What Will Happen as Permafrost Thaws?," 15 May 2018
Topology is a field of mathematics that studies properties of an object that do not change even when that object is twisted or deformed.

— neil savage, Scientific American, "What Are the Limits of Manipulating Nature?," 8 May 2018
The gnarled versions prompt normal prion proteins to deform and malfunction, setting off a cascade that leads to telltale clumps of contorted proteins.

— beth mole, Ars Technica, "Camels in Africa may have been quietly spreading prion disease for decades," 26 Apr. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of deform

Middle English, from Anglo-French or Latin; Anglo-French desfurmer, from Latin deformare, from de- + formare to form, from forma form

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

deform Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of deform

deform, distort, contort, warp means to mar or spoil by or as if by twisting. deform may imply a change of shape through stress, injury, or accident of growth.

- a face deformed by hatred

distort and contort both imply a wrenching from the natural or normal, but contort suggests a more involved twisting and a more grotesque and painful result.