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deform

 - 4 dictionary results

de⋅form

1  [di-fawrm]
Use deform in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to mar the natural form or shape of; put out of shape; disfigure: In cases where the drug was taken during pregnancy, its effects deformed the infants.
2. to make ugly, ungraceful, or displeasing; mar the beauty of; spoil: The trees had been completely deformed by the force of the wind.
3. to change the form of; transform.
4. Geology, Mechanics. to subject to deformation: The metal was deformed under stress.
–verb (used without object)
5. to undergo deformation.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME deformen < L dēfōrmāre, equiv. to dē- de- + fōrmāre to form

Related forms:
de⋅form⋅a⋅ble, adjective
de⋅form⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun
de⋅form⋅a⋅tive, adjective
de⋅form⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. misshape. See mar. 2. ruin.

de⋅form

2  [di-fawrm]
–adjective Archaic.
deformed; ugly.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME defo(u)rme < L dēformis, equiv. to dē- de- + -formis -form
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To deform
de·form   (dĭ-fôrm')   
v.   de·formed, de·form·ing, de·forms

v.   tr.

  1. To spoil the natural form of; misshape: a body that had been deformed by disease.

  2. To spoil the beauty or appearance of; disfigure.

  3. Physics To alter the shape of by pressure or stress.

  4. Geology To change the original state or size of a rock mass, especially by folding or faulting.

v.   intr.
To become deformed. See Synonyms at distort.

[Middle English deformen, from Old French deformer, from Latin dēfōrmāre : dē-, de- + fōrma, form.]
de·form'a·bil'i·ty n., de·form'a·ble adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

deform 
c.1400, from O.Fr. deformer, from L. deformare "put out of shape, disfigure."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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