amorphous en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /eɪˈmɔ(ɹ)fəs/
- /əˈmɔ(ɹ)fəs/
- (US) audio
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἄμορφος (ámorphos, “without form, shapeless, deformed”) (itself from ἀ- (a-, “without”) + μορφή (morphḗ, “form”) + -ous. By surface analysis, a- + -morphous.
Meanings
-
Lacking a definite form or clear shape.
The enormous pile of spaghetti landed on the floor in an amorphous heap.
amorphous blob
-
(broadly) Being without definite character or nature.
And people talking all the time about the AfD is just what it wants: to foster the impression that the others are ganging up against it. The “authentic” voice of “real people” v the amorphous elite.
2023 September 27, John Kampfner, “German politics has a built-in firewall against the far right. It’s beginning to crack”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:Gudrun, new from her life in Chelsea and Sussex, shrank cruelly from this amorphous ugliness of a small colliery town in the Midlands. Yet forward she went, through the whole sordid gamut of pettiness, the long amorphous, gritty street.
1920 November 9, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 1, in Women in Love, New York, N.Y.: Privately printed [by Thomas Seltzer] for subscribers only, →OCLC:
- (broadly) Lacking organization or unity.
-
In the non-crystalline solid state of, or being a non-crystalline counterpart to, a crystalline solid.
Near-synonym: noncrystalline
Glass is an amorphous solid, but some glass is called "crystal" because it looks crystalline and has been called crystal since before humans even understood molecular structure at all.
- (of a set) Infinite and not the disjoint union of two infinite subsets.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more amorphous | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most amorphous | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Antonyms
crystalline · shapely · misshapen · crystal · structured · well-defined
Deriveds
phosphopeptide-amorphous · amorphous carbon · amorphously · amorphousness · amorphism · polyamorphous
Hypernyms
Hyponyms
Synonyms
unshaped · formless · shapeless · amorphous · shapeless · amorphic · formless · unshapely · noncrystalline
Translations (74)
el αλλοπρόσαλλος (lacking organization or unity) · el άμορφος (being without definite character or nature) · pt amorfo (being without definite character or nature) · pl bezpostaciowy (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · el άμορφος (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · nl vormeloos (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · grc ἄμορφος (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · ka უფორმო (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · nl amorf (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · lt beformis (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · da amorf (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · sl brezobličen (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · fi järjestäytymätön (lacking organization or unity) · nb amorf (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · pl amorficzny (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · pl bezkształtny (being without definite character or nature) · pl bezkształtny (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · de gestaltlos (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · ru амо́рфный (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · it amorfo (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · sv icke-kristallin (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · kl aaliangersimasumik iluseqanngitsoq (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · nl ongestructureerd (lacking organization or unity) · fr amorphe (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · sh amorfan (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · ca amorf (being without definite character or nature) · ca amorf (lacking organization or unity) · ru бесфо́рменный (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · pl bezkształtny (lacking organization or unity) · lv amorfs (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · de amorph (being without definite character or nature) · nn amorf (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · pl amorficzny (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · eo amorfa (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · vi vô định hình (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · sv amorf (being without definite character or nature) · bg безформен (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · de amorph (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · tr şekilsiz (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · es amorfo (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · fo skapleysur (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · pt amorfo (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · cs beztvarý (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · fi amorfinen (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · ko 조직이 없는 (lacking organization or unity) · es amorfo (being without definite character or nature) · nn amorf (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · ca amorf (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · ru амо́рфный (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · sh amorfan (being without definite character or nature) · sv amorf (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · cs amorfní (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · pt amorfo (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · de formlos (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · it amorfo (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · sv amorf (lacking organization or unity) · eo senforma (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · bg аморфен (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · es amorfo (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · nl amorf (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · sv amorf (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · el άμορφος (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · nb amorf (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · it amorfo (being without definite character or nature) · sv formlös (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · ka ამორფული (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · sv ostrukturerad (lacking organization or unity) · de amorph (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · ca amorf (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · ota شكلسز (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · fi muodoton (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · ja アモルファス (physics: in the non-crystalline state of solid) · eu eitegabe (lacking a definite form or clear shape) · fi muodoton (being without definite character or nature)