as in to distort
to twist (something) out of a natural or normal shape or condition
a cynic whose face seems to be permanently deformed by a sneer
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deform
Their atoms are held together by strong chemical bonds and arranged in a stable crystal structure that resists deforming, even at extreme temperatures.
—
Vitor Rielli, The Conversation, 4 Mar. 2026
Topping a cactus stem or cutting through a leaf or pad will leave behind ugly scarring and deform the plant.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 26 Feb. 2026
Hadi tells an engaging story, brings complex and surprising characters to life, lends a locale an aesthetic iconography, and renders personal identity inextricable from the forces of history that shaped or deformed it.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2026
American bases built inside the ice sheet, such as Camp Century, were quickly crushed as the encasing snow deformed.
—Paul Bierman, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deform
Vitor Rielli, The Conversation, 4 Mar. 2026
Topping a cactus stem or cutting through a leaf or pad will leave behind ugly scarring and deform the plant.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 26 Feb. 2026
Hadi tells an engaging story, brings complex and surprising characters to life, lends a locale an aesthetic iconography, and renders personal identity inextricable from the forces of history that shaped or deformed it.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2026
American bases built inside the ice sheet, such as Camp Century, were quickly crushed as the encasing snow deformed.
—Paul Bierman, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deform
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deform
Verb
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In a blog post Wednesday, the exchange said that crypto projects cannot have any revenue-sharing models with market makers, and that market makers also cannot engage with projects to manipulate prices or distort liquidity of the tokens.—
Muyao Shen,
Bloomberg,
25 Mar. 2026
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Others think that their time and resources are better spent elsewhere — or, worse, that a Lean-centric approach will distort the true value of mathematics.—
Leila Sloman,
Quanta Magazine,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In the first round of the 1993 tournament, against LSU Kidd’s drive through the lane and body-contorting, banker high off the backboard with one second left gave Cal a 66-64 win.—
Brad Townsend,
Dallas Morning News,
19 Mar. 2026
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Egon Schiele’s show at the Neue Galerie suggests that the artist’s raw, contorted depictions of the body were influenced by a formative relationship with a doctor.—
Hannah Jocelyn,
New Yorker,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In another part of the factory, a worker used a wooden stick, like a tongue compressor at a doctor’s office, to scrape excess bits of explosive out of the grooves inside each shell, ensuring that the base would screw on smoothly.—
Simon Shuster,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
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The result is that many contestants are frequent collaborators and have long histories with one another, adding extra juice to their attempts to screw each other over.—
Claire McNear,
Rolling Stone,
18 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deform.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deform. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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