Definitions

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

  • adjective Lacking physical form or shape.
  • adjective Lacking organization; formless.
  • adjective Lacking a crystalline structure.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Having no determinate form; of irregular shape.
  • Having no regular structure; specifically, not crystallized, even in the minutest particles: as, glass and opal are amorphous.—. Of no particular kind or character; formless; characterless; heterogeneous; unorganized.
  • Characterized by amorphism; founded on the principles of amorphism; nihilistic; anarchic.
  • Also amorphic.

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

  • adjective Having no determinate form; of irregular; shapeless.
  • adjective Without crystallization in the ultimate texture of a solid substance; uncrystallized.
  • adjective Of no particular kind or character; anomalous.

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

  • adjective lacking a definite form or clear shape
  • adjective being without definite character or nature
  • adjective lacking organization or unity
  • adjective physics in the non-crystalline solid state of a typically crystalline solid.
  • adjective set theory, of a set infinite and not the disjoint union of two infinite subsets

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

  • adjective without real or apparent crystalline form
  • adjective having no definite form or distinct shape
  • adjective lacking the system or structure characteristic of living bodies

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Greek amorphos : a-, without; see a– + morphē, shape.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek ἄμορφος (amorphos) "without form, shapeless, deformed" (itself from α- (a-) "without" + μορφή (morphē) "form") + the English suffix -ous

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Examples

  • No, I don't think 'amorphous' is quite the word for much of that southern white elite.

    Is That Legal?: The Past And Partisan Posturing in North Carolina 2007

  • I don't know if the problem is that my "Gen" can only think in amorphous non-thoughts, but the best thing they could do would be to come up with actual concrete plans of action.

    Gen Y Participatory Exploration Presentation - NASA Watch 2008

  • And speaking of crying out loud, if you look and listen you'll see that these youngsters are crying out for guidance on how they can help make this space thing happen and forge their paths into the future, and what do they get from the peanut gallery? packed full of nothing can only think in amorphous non-thoughts

    Gen Y Participatory Exploration Presentation - NASA Watch 2008

  • In collaboration with John Konnert and Peter D'Antonio, procedures were developed for determining atomic arrangements in amorphous materials based on criteria similar to those applied to molecular vapors.

    Jerome Karle - Autobiography 1986

  • Again; solid bodies, whether simple or compound, are capable of existing in two states, which are known by the terms amorphous and crystalline.

    Familiar Letters on Chemistry Justus Freiherr von Liebig 1838

  • He said Apple will take a production line at Sharp's Sakai facility to make a modified version of what are known as amorphous TFT displays and will probably begin commercial production of what he called iTV in February.

    SFGate: Don Asmussen: Bad Reporter Sarah Frier 2011

  • He said Apple will take a production line at Sharp's Sakai facility to make a modified version of what are known as amorphous TFT displays and will likely begin commercial production of what he called iTV in February.

    BusinessWeek.com -- Top News 2011

  • He said Apple will take a production line at Sharp's Sakai facility to make a modified version of what are known as amorphous TFT displays and will likely begin commercial production of what he called iTV in February.

    BusinessWeek.com -- Top News 2011

  • United Solar uses something called amorphous silicon technology, while Dow has set its sights on a newer technology known as Cigs -- photovoltaic cells made of copper, indium, gallium and selenium, which, when they work, are more efficient -- able to turn 13% of the sun's energy into electricity.

    Roofs for Rich Green People 2010

  • Now glasses are also silicates of various metals, but unlike gem minerals the glasses are not crystalline but rather amorphous, that is, without definite geometric form or definite internal arrangement.

    A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving Public Frank Bertram Wade

Comments

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  • I love this word. Has a wonderful sound.

    September 23, 2008

  • shapeless

    His study plan for the GRE was at best amorphous; he would do questions from random pages in any one of seven test prep books.

    October 11, 2016