Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To be or act in accord with a set of standards, expectations, or specifications: synonym: correspond.
- intransitive verb To act, often unquestioningly, in accordance with traditional customs or prevailing standards.
- intransitive verb To be similar in form or pattern.
- intransitive verb To bring into accord or agreement; cause to correspond or comply: synonym: adapt.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To make of the same form or character; make like; adjust: with to: as, to
conform anything to a model or a standard. - To bring into harmony or correspondence; make agreeable; adapt; submit: often with a reflexive pronoun.
- To act conformably, compliantly, or in accordance: with to: as, to
conform to the fashion or to custom. - In English history, to comply with the usages of the Established Church: in this sense often used absolutely. See
conformity , 3. - Conformable.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Of the same form; similar in import; conformable.
- intransitive verb To be in accord or harmony; to comply; to be obedient; to submit; -- with
to orwith . - intransitive verb (Eng. Eccl. Hist.) To comply with the usages of the Established Church; to be a conformist.
- transitive verb To shape in accordance with; to make like; to bring into harmony or agreement with; -- usually with
to orunto .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb intransitive, of persons To act in accordance with
expectations ; tobehave in the manner of others, especially as a result ofsocial pressure . - verb intransitive, etc. To be in accordance with a set of
specifications orregulations , or with apolicy orguideline . - verb transitive To make
similar in form or nature; to makesuitable for a purpose; toadapt .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb be similar, be in line with
- verb adapt or conform oneself to new or different conditions
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Sarcastro: Big Government forcing private institutions to conform is totally the way to go!
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Big Government forcing private institutions to conform is totally the way to go!
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Big Government forcing private institutions to conform is totally the way to go!
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Big Government forcing private institutions to conform is totally the way to go!
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But the need to conform is greater among the young.
A thoughtful post (as usual) ... Frank Wilson 2006
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Ok, so your 'friend' has been drummed out of his family, perhaps the pressure on him to conform is huge but I doubt that the family will really turn their back on him.
Gay life in Mexico 2006
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Thus to me to try to overly conform is plain wrong, because you are negating part of your individuality.
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None of this has anything much to do with pronunciation, as everyone except pedants is likely, eventually, to make the word conform to their language, in colloquial usage at least.
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China, dine contentedly upon horse-steak in Paris, swallow their beef uncooked in Germany, maintain an unwinking gravity over the hottest curry in India, smoke their hookah gratefully in Turkey, mount an elephant in Ceylon, and, in short, conform gracefully to any native custom, however strange it may appear to him.
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Such agreements shall be approved by said board only when the terms conform to the provisions of this act.
jeen0809 commented on the word conform
She has always been a conformist.
April 14, 2007
PossibleUnderscore commented on the word conform
Reader, you must know that an interesting fate (sometimes involving rats, sometimes not) awaits almost everyone, mouse or man, who does not conform.
-The Tale Of Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo
August 4, 2009