Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Lacking a definite shape.
  • adjective Lacking symmetrical or attractive form; not shapely.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Destitute of regular form; wanting symmetry of dimensions; deformed; amorphous.
  • That has no shaping tendency or effect; that effects nothing.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Destitute of shape or regular form; wanting symmetry of dimensions; misshapen; -- opposed to shapely.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective without shape

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective having no definite form or distinct shape
  • adjective lacking symmetry or attractive form

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

shape +‎ -less

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word shapeless.

Examples

  • (And of course one of the obvious reasons why lab coats are pretty shapeless is that they are designed to fit over your clothing, which may or may not be form fitting.)

    Archive 2007-07-01 Peggy 2007

  • (And of course one of the obvious reasons why lab coats are pretty shapeless is that they are designed to fit over your clothing, which may or may not be form fitting.)

    Science Fashion - Why is always about the boobs? Peggy 2007

  • Even the gaunt women in shapeless garments who always came to the door to watch the wagon train go by were not unlike the stiff wooden figures of Mrs. Noah.

    The Windy Hill 1922

  • This seems to render the name shapeless and improbable.

    Recollections of Dante Gabriel Rossetti Hall Caine 1892

  • And I can't understand why My Effortless Brilliance was so disliked by audiences; I've heard it described as shapeless and dull, but I was riveted by the tensions in the character relations and the fearless mix of charm and vanity in the performance by

    GreenCine Daily 2009

  • In fact, what abortion defenders refer to as a shapeless “blob of tissue” is in reality so clearly human that the truth must be carefully withheld from potential abortion customers or abortion providers would go out of business overnight.

    They still trot out the "blob of tissue" argument Suzanne 2006

  • He is called in various places villain, slave and tortoise; a moon-calf, that is, a shapeless lump; a fish, with legs like a man and fins like arms; a puppy-headed monster; a man monster; half a fish and half a monster; a plain fish; a mis-shaped knave; "as strange a thing as e'er I looked upon;" and it is said of him that his manners are as disproportioned as his shape.

    Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 8 Charles Herbert Sylvester

  • Think of coral-animals as being referred to as shapeless worms that "writhe and shrink their tortuous bodies to grotesque dimensions"!

    The Human Side of Animals Royal Dixon 1923

  • He was wearing a light-colored raincoat and the kind of shapeless light-colored beanie hat that old guys wear on the golf course when the sun is out or the rain is falling.

    One Shot Child, Lee 2005

  • And Ariel Durant, who's wrapped in this kind of shapeless shmatte and there's this little old lady with gray hair, had the face of Madam

    Another Life: A Memoir of Other People 1999

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.