polymorphous

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“
I presume his remark that plants, on isolated volcanic islands are polymorphous (i.e.,

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Definitions (9)

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  1. Having or exhibiting many forms; characterized by polymorphism; not isomorphous or monomorphous. I … find it difficult to form any judgment of any author so “many-sided” (to borrow a German expression)—polymorphous as Herder. De Quincey, Herder.
  2. Specifically, in zoology: Undergoing a series of marked changes during development, as most insects.
  3. Varying much in appearance, form, or structure in the same species or group.
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Examples (47)

  • This was a guy who could make two syllables out of a four-syllable obscenity, yet include in the same sentence words like "polymorphous" and "subliminal"--properly used, at that. —  Fantasy and Science Fiction - [Vol 111] - Issue 04-05 - October-November 2006
  • Our sexuality-- polymorphous and powerful as it is-- will not abide easy changes in the "software." —  F ;SF; - vol 089 issue 03 - September 1995
  • It is unusually polymorphous-that is, it differs quite a bit from person to person, even within genetically similar groups. —  Popular Science
  • He was identified with Adonis, Bacchus, Pan, Osiris and Mithra; he was made a "polymorphous"[40] being in which all celestial powers manifested themselves in turn; a pantheos who wore the crown of rays and the lunar crescent at the same time, and whose various emblems expressed an infinite multiplicity of functions When neo-Platonism was triumphing, the Phrygian fable became the traditional mould into which subtle exegetists boldly poured their philosophic speculations on the creative and stimulating forces that were the principles of all material forms, and on the deliverance of the divine soul that was submerged in the corruption of this earthly world. —  The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism
  • "Incest complex"--Now too the child under the influence of occasional seduction may become polymorphous-perverse, that is, may become subject to any form of sexual perversion. —  Studies in Forensic Psychiatry
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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = French polymorphe = Portuguese polymorpho = Italian polimorfo, from New Latin polymorphus, from Greek πολύμορφος, multiform, manifold, from πολύς, many, + μορφή, form.
 

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