English
Etymology
Middle English, from Old French or Latin; Old French deformer, from Latin deformare, from de- + formare (to form), from forma (form).
Verb
en-verb
- transitive To spoil the form of.
- transitive To spoil the looks of; to disfigure; as, a face deformed by bitterness.
- transitive To mar the character of; as, a marriage deformed by jealousy.
- transitive To alter the shape of by stress.
- intransitive To become misshapen or changed in shape.
Synonyms
distort, contort, warp
Translations
trans-top|To spoil the form of
Finnish: turmella, rumentaa, tehdä muodottomaksi
Portuguese: deformar
trans-mid
Italian: deformare
trans-bottom
trans-top|To spoil the looks of; to disfigure
Portuguese: deformar
trans-mid
trans-bottom
trans-top|To mar the character of
Finnish: turmella
trans-mid
trans-bottom
trans-top|To alter the shape of by stress
trans-mid
trans-bottom
trans-top|To become misshapen or changed in shape
Finnish: turmeltua, tulla muodottomaksi
trans-mid
trans-bottom
Usage notes
Deform, distort, contort, warp means to mar or spoil by or as if by twisting. Deform may imply a change of shape through stress, injury, or some accident of growth; as, his face was deformed by hatred. Distort and contort both imply a wrenching from the natural, normal, or justly proportioned, but contort suggests a more involved twisting and a more grotesque and painful result; as, the odd camera angle distorts the figure in the photograph, disease had painfully contorted her body. Warp indicates physically an uneven shrinking that bends or twists out of a flat plane; as, warped floorboards.
Derived terms
deformable
deformation
Category:English ergative verbs
fa:deform
io:deform
te:deform
vi:deform
zh:deform
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