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de·form

(dĭ-fôrm)

v. de·formed, de·form·ing, de·forms

v.tr.

1. To alter from proper or natural form; misshape: "We shoved off. Almost immediately we hit something that deformed a propeller" (William Least Heat-Moon).

2. To spoil the beauty or appearance of; disfigure: "They recalled the fresh young image of the Handsome Sailor, that face never deformed by a sneer" (Herman Melville). See Synonyms at distort.

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

v.intr.

To become deformed: A baseball deforms on being hit.

[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.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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