Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The state of being deformed.
- noun A bodily malformation, distortion, or disfigurement.
- noun A deformed person or thing.
- noun Gross ugliness or distortion.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Physical malformation or distortion; disproportion or unnatural development of a part or parts.
- noun Lack of that which constitutes, or the presence of that which destroys, beauty, grace, or propriety; irregularity; absurdity; gross deviation from established rules: as, deformity in an edifice; deformity of character.
- noun Lack of uniformity or conformity.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The state of being deformed; want of proper form or symmetry; any unnatural form or shape; distortion; irregularity of shape or features; ugliness.
- noun Anything that destroys beauty, grace, or propriety; irregularity; absurdity; gross deviation from order or the established laws of propriety
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The state of being
deformed . - noun Something which is
deformed .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an appearance that has been spoiled or is misshapen
- noun an affliction in which some part of the body is misshapen or malformed
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word deformity.
Examples
-
Shakespeare, whose mind was more intent upon notions than words, had in his thoughts the pulchritude of virtue, and the deformity of wickedness; and though he had mentioned _wickedness_, made the correlative answer to _deformity_.
Notes to Shakespeare, Volume III: The Tragedies Samuel Johnson 1746
-
The special meaning here attached to the term deformity is sufficiently explained in the preceding paragraph; it remains to give a few illustrations, and to refer to other headings, such as Heterotaxy,
Vegetable Teratology An Account of the Principal Deviations from the Usual Construction of Plants Maxwell T. Masters
-
To claim that removal of deformity is purely cosmetic is not only obviously preposterous, but it is ultimately a more expensive tab for the short sighted insurance industry to deny coverage.
Hyleri Katzenberg: Shame on You Piggy Health Insurers! Hyleri Katzenberg 2010
-
I do break my promise; never will I create another like yourself, equal in deformity and wickedness.
Chapter 20 2010
-
I do break my promise; never will I create another like yourself, equal in deformity and wickedness.
Chapter 3 2010
-
They are allowed to lie in this hard cradle, always in the same position, flattening the back of their little heads till the deformity is quite pronounced and lifelong.
Insulinde: Experiences of a Naturalist's Wife in the Eastern Archipelago 1887
-
Constrained, therefore, to behold objects in their more genuine hues, their deformity is by degrees less painful to us.
-
My mother, who didn't have as much to deal with as you do, nonetheless had what is politely called a "deformity"--and in certain closed-in spaces like elevators got the same treatment.
Hiya gawkers! Kay Olson 2008
-
Lene Andersen at The Seated View thinks about self-image versus objectivity and the words -- like "deformity" -- that can cut.
Archive 2006-09-01 Kay Olson 2006
-
Lene Andersen at The Seated View thinks about self-image versus objectivity and the words -- like "deformity" -- that can cut.
Saturday Slumgullion #12 Kay Olson 2006
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.