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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary de·form ETYMOLOGY Middle English, from Anglo-French or Latin; Anglo-French desfurmer, from Latin deformare, from de- + formare to form, from forma form DATE 15th century transitive verb 1. to spoil the form of 2. a. to spoil the looks of : disfigure a face deformed by bitterness b. to mar the character of a marriage deformed by jealousy 3. to alter the shape of by stress intransitive verb : to become misshapen or changed in shape Synonyms. 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 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 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 warped floorboards English Etymology deform c.1400, from O.Fr . deformer, from L. deformare "put out of shape, disfigure," from de- + formare (see form).http://O.Fr Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 deform de·form / di5fC:m; NAmE -5fC:rm / verb[VN] to change or spoil the usual or natural shape of sth 改变…的外形；损毁…的形状；使成畸形: The disease had deformed his spine. 疾病导致他脊柱变形。 Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus-11th Edition v. Function: verb to mar or spoil by or as if by twisting FF1C;a face deformed by bitternessFF1E; Synonyms: contort, distort, misshape, torture, warp, wind Related Words: batter, cripple, maim, mangle, mutilate; deface, disfigure; damage, impair, injure, mar, spoil; blemish, flaw; screw (up), squinch Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged de·form I. \də̇ˈfȯ(ə)rm, dēˈ-, -ȯ(ə)m\ adjective Etymology: Middle English defourme, from Latin deformis, from de- + -formis (from forma shape, form) — more at form archaic : deformed , misshapen , shapeless , hideous II. verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: Middle English deformen, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French deformer, from Latin deformare, from de- + formare to shape, form — more at form transitive verb 1. : to spoil the form or shape of : misshape , distort < deform the groove walls of a phonograph record > 2. : to spoil the looks of : disfigure , deface < a face deformed by hatred and bitterness > : mar the excellence or perfection of < the minor characters are … deformed by conditions beyond their power to change — Malcolm Cowley > : make offensive < deformed by marriage, irritable, acerb — George Meredith > 3. : to alter the form or shape of: a. obsolete : to unsettle the order of (as ranks of battle) b. : to change the shape of (a body) by the action of forces c. : to fold, fracture, compress, or otherwise change the shape or attitude of (rocks) by stresses developed within the earth intransitive verb : to become deformed : change in shape < certain metals will deform permanently without breaking > Synonyms: distort , contort , warp , gnarl : deform , the least specific of this group, applies to any marring or spoiling especially resulting in disfigurement or loss of some particular good or normal quality or attribute < basaltic and granitic rocks are seen deformed side by side in deeply eroded parts of the earth's surface — W.H.Bucher > < he was really hideous, positively deformed with malice — Christopher Isherwood > < a dread that it should cramp and deform the free operations of his own mind — T.S.Eliot > distort strongly implies a twisting or wrenching away from or out of the natural, regular, or true or, in application to intangibles, an imbalance or lack of reasonable proportion < under such a light the features of the subject are sometimes distorted, as in a passport photograph — Hallett Smith > < news was distorted in his favor — S.H.Adams > < distorting facts to suit theories — R.A.Hall b. 1911 > contort implies a more involved or intense twisting together or upon itself, suggesting a grotesque or painful result < the boy whose face was contorted with fury and frustration — Jean Stafford > < contorted thickets of lodgepole pine — American Guide Series: Oregon > < their shadows contorted themselves grotesquely — Israel Zangwill > warp is literally a twisting or bending out of a flat plane and figuratively a twisting or wrenching that gives bias, false significance, or abnormal direction < boards warped by exposure to the sun and rain > < their lives and minds have been warped, twisted and soured — John Lardner > < it degrades the individual and warps the nation's moral fabric > gnarl implies, in literal use, the twistings and contortions, knots and protuberances of the roots or branches of an old tree; in extended use it suggests a condition similar to this as in the hands or limbs of the very old, the arthritic, or those who have long done heavy physical work, especially exposed to all weathers < in the old orchard the trees are gnarled, and broken — Corey Ford > < he was slight, dark, gnarled, with a face on him like a knotty piece of old mahogany — Alan Villiers > < the battlefields, gnarled by trenches, barbed-wire entanglements, shell holes — H.S.Commager > |
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