Dictionary

conform en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /kənˈfɔɹm/ (General-American)
• /kənˈfɔːm/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English conformen, borrowed from Middle French and Anglo-Norman conformer, from Latin conformāre (“to mould, to shape after”).

Meanings

1. (intransitive, transitive) To adapt to something by more closely matching it, especially something normative.
   • The sensual man conforms thoughts to things; the poet conforms things to his thoughts. 1836, Ralph Waldo Emerson, chapter 6, in Nature:
   • When Nos. 1870 to 1879 emerged, in 1902, the circular front windows of the cab had given place to much larger windows, conforming to the shape of the cab roof on top and the firebox top below, [...]. 1961 February, Cecil J. Allen, “Salute to the "Claud Hamiltons" & "Directors"”, in Trains Illustrated, page 115:
   • There is a worm by Phoebus bred, By leaves of mulberry is fed, Which unprovided where to dwell, Conforms itself to weave a cell. c. 1710, “Vanbrugh's House”, in The Poems of Jonathan Swift, 1910 edition, Jonathan Swift:
2. (intransitive, often, transitive, with-to) To adapt to something by more closely matching it, especially something normative. ▸ To change to more closely match typical characteristics or behavior.
   • [B]y conforming to the dress and habits of the Gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity in the country. 1839, Robert FitzRoy, Phillip Parker King, Charles Darwin, chapter IV, in Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty’s Ships Adventure and Beagle, between the Years 1826 and 1836, […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC:
   • [H]e had a dispensation for conforming in outward observances to the Protestant faith. 1822, [Walter Scott], chapter I, in Peveril of the Peak. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, pages 5–6:
   • In any case, most of these sharks are gray or grayish, and they certainly are typical in that they conform to everyone's idea of what a shark is supposed to look like. 1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, →ISBN, page 110:
3. (intransitive, of things or procedures) To be as required or recommended by a specification, regulation, or policy.
   • A judge in a Texas widow’s lawsuit over the Merck drug Vioxx reduced a $32 million jury award to about $7.75 million on Thursday so that it conformed to state law. […] But Judge Alex W. Gabert, in a Rio Grande City courtroom, ordered the punitive damage reduced to conform to a 2003 Texas law that caps punitive damages at twice the amount of economic damages — lost pay — and up to $750,000 on top of noneconomic damages. 2006 December 22, “Judge Cuts Amount of Vioxx Award”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 12 Jul 2022, retrieved 07 Jun 2011:
   • In height and breadth it conformed to the prescribed measurements laid down by the rules of the contest. 1919, Hildegard G. Frey, chapter 11, in The Camp Fire Girls Do Their Bit:

Forms

Antonyms

nonconform

Deriveds

nonconform · unconforming · misconform · inconform · osmoconform · nonconforming · reconform · coconform · conformingly · uncomformable · unconformed · conformal · osmoconforming · preconform · conformability · thermoconform · overconform · underconform

Hyponyms

acquiesce

Relateds

conformation · when in Rome · conformist · conformance · conformer · conformity · do as the Romans do · go native · conformism

Synonyms

acquiesce (to act in accordance with expectations) · blow with the wind · follow the crowd · hew · conform · float with the stream · fall in line · go with the flow · knuckle under · go along to get along · comply · submit · fall in with

Translations (41)

ro conforma (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · fi noudattaa (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · de erfüllen (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · de entsprechen (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · ro alinia (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · ru соотве́тствовать (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · vi tuân theo (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · es conformarse con (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · fi toimia odotusten mukaisesti (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · fr se conformer (à) (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · ru быть подобным (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · pt estar em conformidade com (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · ro concorda (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · de anpassen (to make similar in form or nature; to make suitable for a purpose; to adapt) · ru соотве́тствовать (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · de passen (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · ru сообразовывать (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · cmn 遵从 (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · de entsprechen (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · ru согласова́ться (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · de gerecht werden (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · de genügen (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · fi sopeuttaa (to make similar in form or nature; to make suitable for a purpose; to adapt) · es conformar (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · tr uymak (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · ru сообразовываться (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · bg съответствувам (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · it essere conforme (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · enm conformen (to make similar in form or nature; to make suitable for a purpose; to adapt) · nl conformeren (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · fr s'aligner (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · ru подчиняться (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · ro conforma (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · bg подчинявам се на (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · bg съобразявам се (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · pt conformar-se (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · enm conformen (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · pl dostosować się (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · fi olla jonkin mukainen (to be in accordance with a set of specifications) · ro acorda (to act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others) · fi noudattaa (to be in accordance with a set of specifications)