morphology
noun
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Definition of morphology
1a : a branch of biology that deals with the form and structure of animals and plants
b : the form and structure of an organism or any of its parts amphibian morphology external and internal eye morphology
2a : a study and description of word formation (such as inflection, derivation, and compounding) in language
b : the system of word-forming elements and processes in a language According to English morphology, the third person singular present tense of a verb is formed by adding -s.
3a : a study of structure or form
b : structure, form the unique morphology of the city —H. J. Nelson
4 : the external structure of rocks in relation to the development of erosional forms or topographic features
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Other words from morphology
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or less commonly
morphologic
\-ˈlä-jik
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adjective
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adverb
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noun
Examples of morphology in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
So, putting it all together, Dyret is a machine that can evolve to not only adapt to new environments, but to change its behavior and morphology when something internally is going awry, like a battery running low. — Matt Simon, WIRED, "The Shape-Shifting Robot That Evolves by Falling Down," 18 May 2018 The intricacies of their usually invisible and always magical biochemistry, morphology and ecology never cease to amaze. — Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, "Why this Kentucky plant is the 'Manolo Blahniks' of the garden world," 22 June 2018 One of its main objectives was to better understand global geology and morphology of the dwarf planet and its tiny moon Charon. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Science Fiction's Biggest Names Will Live Forever on Pluto's Moon," 13 Apr. 2018 And anything pertaining to history of human migrations, or things that play into traditional classifications of racial phenotypes like facial morphology or skin color. — Michael Price, Science | AAAS, "‘It’s a toxic place.’ How the online world of white nationalists distorts population genetics," 22 May 2018 Sorting the spiders with the aid of a powerful electron microscope, the researcher relied on such distinguishing markers as genital morphology and carapace shape to make her classifications. — Ryan P. Smith, Smithsonian, "Madagascar’s Ancient ‘Pelican Spiders’ Are As Striking As They Are Strange," 11 Jan. 2018 However, that same diversity—revealed through research on Native American cranial morphology and tooth structure—creates its own dilemma. — Ben Potter, National Geographic, "Lost Native American Ancestor Revealed in Ancient Child’s DNA," 3 Jan. 2018 Grayson subscribes to the Hopeful Monster theory, a term coined in the 1930s by a geneticist named Richard Goldschmidt, who was interested in how radical changes in morphology evolve. — Alessandra Codinha, Vogue, "A New Exhibition Finds Hope in Moths and Monsters," 12 Feb. 2018 Person said the plesiosaur was identified by its morphology. — Jack Dura, The Seattle Times, "80 million-year-old remains prepped for North Dakota display," 15 Jan. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'morphology.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for morphology
morphology
noun
English Language Learners Definition of morphology
linguistics : the study and description of how words are formed in language
biology : the study of the form and structure of animals and plants
: the form and structure of a plant or animal or any of its parts
See the full definition for morphology in the English Language Learners Dictionary
morphology
noun
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Medical Definition of morphology
1 : a branch of biology that deals with the form and structure of animals and plants especially with respect to the forms, relations, metamorphoses, and phylogenetic development of organs apart from their functions — see anatomy sense 1 — compare physiology sense 1
2 : the form and structure of an organism or any of its parts
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