shapeless

adjective

ˈshā-pləs How to pronounce shapeless (audio)
Definition of shapelessnext
1
as in distorted
badly or imperfectly formed a shapeless old hat

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in amorphous
having no definite or recognizable form right now this clay is just a shapeless lump, but wait until I'm done sculpting it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shapeless The dress was designed with a shapeless, flowing silhouette, with sleeveless element and maxi hem. — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 27 Feb. 2026 Then, after the adults come into the frame and Toha dresses in shapeless clothes and a headscarf, their social position and economic circumstances become much clearer. — Alissa Simon, Variety, 25 Feb. 2026 Spurs are hapless, listless, shapeless, themeless, hopeless. — George Caulkin, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026 Its largely shapeless silhouette moved effortlessly in and out of the frame with a hem that fell well below her knee. — Emma Banks, InStyle, 7 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shapeless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shapeless
  1. distorted
  2. amorphous
  3. monstrous
  4. formless
  5. misshapen
  6. chaotic
  7. unstructured
  8. unformed
Adjective
  • La Nueva Violencia is a smirking, libidinous play for the dance floor, picking up where the distorted guitars of the last record left off and channeling each new riff into sleazy post-punk and electroclash that stick to the body like sweaty velvet.
    — Richard Villegas, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The most fateful night of my protagonist’s life—the night when her childhood best friend disappears on a black-sand beach—leaves her with a distorted recollection of what really happened.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of distorted
Adjective
  • Women are an amorphous concept that cannot possibly be defined.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026
  • These exotic forms of metal alloys are not as regular as crystals, but not amorphous like glass, which gives them unusual properties.
    — Natalie Wolchover, Quanta Magazine, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of amorphous
Adjective
  • But over the course of numerous sequels and reboots, the franchise largely shifted away from resonant character drama in favor of high-octane action sequences and increasingly monstrous beasts.
    — Megan McCluskey, Time, 14 Aug. 2026
  • At the end of his 1973 Atlantic essay, Schlesinger suggested that corruption came to the White House in 50-year cycles, like monstrous cicadas.
    — Jake Lundberg, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of monstrous
Adjective
  • Musicians have long sought to give form to the formless, unconstrained yet palatable, inspirational and divine.
    — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 21 July 2026
  • Without training in how to respond to it, a threat can feel not just frightening but formless, something to be endured rather than navigated.
    — Andrei Popoviciu, The Dial, 21 July 2026
Definition of formless
Adjective
  • The only plants for Wareheim are the misshapen ones, the otherworldly freak shows.
    — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2026
  • No term in American politics is quite as slippery or misshapen.
    — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of misshapen
Adjective
  • More has been learned about the chaotic moments leading up to Friday's violent disruption at a Midtown synagogue.
    — Allen Devlin, CBS News, 16 Aug. 2026
  • In the five years since the chaotic US withdrawal from Kabul and the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan has become home to one of the world’s worst human rights and humanitarian emergencies.
    — Kara Fox, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of chaotic
Adjective
  • Taylor joined the Bravo series in its latest season, which later exploded into scandal and earned its first Emmy nomination in the outstanding unstructured reality program category.
    — Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 11 Aug. 2026
  • John is also currently on a behavioral plan that includes an aide during unstructured periods, including lunch, recess and PE.
    — Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of unstructured
Adjective
  • On the contrary, its unformed shape and melange of styles add to the sense that Teng is actively searching for the answer to that question with every cut.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 14 Aug. 2026
  • This Tony, the future bad-boy tell-all insider of the culinary world, is still touchingly unformed—a mortar full of raw, pasty potential, crying out for life experience to pestle him into shape.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of unformed

Browse Nearby Words

shaped up
shapeless
shapeliness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shapeless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shapeless. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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