as in distorted
badly or imperfectly formed
a clay sculpture of an eagle that was so malformed that it looked more like a feathered football
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Recent Examples of malformed
Seven goats became pregnant; six had miscarriages, but one kid was born—with a malformed lung.
—
D. T. Max, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025
Tonally, the story ends up halfway between malformed melodrama about inequity and a mystery steeped in respectability politics, wherein the point is how easily political allegiances (or assumptions about cops who shoot unarmed Black men) can blind one to greater complexities.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Mar. 2025
Facing uncertainty Michael Lozano and William Wilcox are unlikely to get a definitive answer about what caused their malformed blood vessels, but they are encouraged that scientists are at least studying how blasts can alter veins and arteries.
—Jon Hamilton, NPR, 14 Jan. 2025
The tall clay-like skin creature looks like a candle melting in human form, without eyes, and with malformed hands that resemble a fetus’ in a sonogram.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 14 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for malformed
D. T. Max, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025
Tonally, the story ends up halfway between malformed melodrama about inequity and a mystery steeped in respectability politics, wherein the point is how easily political allegiances (or assumptions about cops who shoot unarmed Black men) can blind one to greater complexities.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Mar. 2025
Facing uncertainty Michael Lozano and William Wilcox are unlikely to get a definitive answer about what caused their malformed blood vessels, but they are encouraged that scientists are at least studying how blasts can alter veins and arteries.
—Jon Hamilton, NPR, 14 Jan. 2025
The tall clay-like skin creature looks like a candle melting in human form, without eyes, and with malformed hands that resemble a fetus’ in a sonogram.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 14 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for malformed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malformed
Adjective
-
Rewiring the fear response The second big part of the training uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help participants work on changing distorted thinking patterns that equate the presence of adrenaline with the presence of a real threat.—
Evan Roberts,
NPR,
24 Feb. 2026
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To Kyle, Camille is a woman who rewrites history, reminiscent of Kyle’s sister’s wilfull denial of her addiction issues, which forces Kyle to live in a distorted narrative.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Only Byrne’s flashes of humor and desperately flailing humanity keep her on this side of monstrous.—
Culture Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
-
The monstrous dish is not just a bun with sausage.—
Imelda García,
Dallas Morning News,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Central Park, for instance, has been reduced to a small, deformed square.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
4 Jan. 2026
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As a result, his vocals have a kind of stately yet starry-eyed quality, giving structure to these deformed, cosmic beats from the internet abyss.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
However, something went wrong during the process and a lot of my bagels ended up misshapen and partially flat and puffed at the same time.—
Emily Elias,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
18 Feb. 2026
-
The new map was like a jigsaw puzzle, with one district resembling a misshapen salamander.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Malformed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malformed. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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