I. də̇ˈfȯ(ə)rm, dēˈ-, -ȯ(ə)m adjective
Etymology: Middle English defourme, from Latin deformis, from de- + -formis (from forma shape, form) — more at form
archaic : deformed , misshapen , shapeless , hideous
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English deformen, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French deformer, from Latin deformare, from de- + formare to shape, form — more at form
transitive verb
1. : to spoil the form or shape of : misshape , distort
deform the groove walls of a phonograph record
2. : to spoil the looks of : disfigure , deface
a face deformed by hatred and bitterness
: mar the excellence or perfection of
the minor characters are … deformed by conditions beyond their power to change — Malcolm Cowley
: make offensive
deformed by marriage, irritable, acerb — George Meredith
3. : to alter the form or shape of:
a. obsolete : to unsettle the order of (as ranks of battle)
b. : to change the shape of (a body) by the action of forces
c. : to fold, fracture, compress, or otherwise change the shape or attitude of (rocks) by stresses developed within the earth
intransitive verb
: to become deformed : change in shape
certain metals will deform permanently without breaking
Synonyms:
distort , contort , warp , gnarl : deform , the least specific of this group, applies to any marring or spoiling especially resulting in disfigurement or loss of some particular good or normal quality or attribute
basaltic and granitic rocks are seen deformed side by side in deeply eroded parts of the earth's surface — W.H.Bucher
he was really hideous, positively deformed with malice — Christopher Isherwood
a dread that it should cramp and deform the free operations of his own mind — T.S.Eliot
distort strongly implies a twisting or wrenching away from or out of the natural, regular, or true or, in application to intangibles, an imbalance or lack of reasonable proportion
under such a light the features of the subject are sometimes distorted, as in a passport photograph — Hallett Smith
news was distorted in his favor — S.H.Adams
distorting facts to suit theories — R.A.Hall b. 1911
contort implies a more involved or intense twisting together or upon itself, suggesting a grotesque or painful result
the boy whose face was contorted with fury and frustration — Jean Stafford
contorted thickets of lodgepole pine — American Guide Series: Oregon
their shadows contorted themselves grotesquely — Israel Zangwill
warp is literally a twisting or bending out of a flat plane and figuratively a twisting or wrenching that gives bias, false significance, or abnormal direction
boards warped by exposure to the sun and rain
their lives and minds have been warped, twisted and soured — John Lardner
it degrades the individual and warps the nation's moral fabric
gnarl implies, in literal use, the twistings and contortions, knots and protuberances of the roots or branches of an old tree; in extended use it suggests a condition similar to this as in the hands or limbs of the very old, the arthritic, or those who have long done heavy physical work, especially exposed to all weathers
in the old orchard the trees are gnarled, and broken — Corey Ford
he was slight, dark, gnarled, with a face on him like a knotty piece of old mahogany — Alan Villiers
the battlefields, gnarled by trenches, barbed-wire entanglements, shell holes — H.S.Commager