- the act of deforming; distortion
- the result of deforming; a change in form, esp for the worse
- a change in the dimensions of an object resulting from a stress
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
de•for•ma•tion
(dē′fôr mā′shən, def′ər-),USA pronunciation n.
de′for•ma′tion•al, adj.
- the act of deforming;
distortion;
disfigurement. - the result of deforming;
change of form, esp. for the worse. - an altered form.
- Geology, Mechanicsa change in the shape or dimensions of a body, resulting from stress;
strain.
- Latin dēfōrmātiōn- (stem of dēfōrmātiō), equivalent. to dēfōrmāt(us) (past participle of dēfōrmāre; see deform1) + -iōn- -ion
- late Middle English deformacioun 1400–50
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
deformation /ˌdiːfɔːˈmeɪʃən/ n
de•form1 /dɪˈfɔrm/USA pronunciation
v. [ ~ + obj]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to mar the natural form of; disfigure:a body badly deformed by a birth defect.
- to mar the beauty of;
spoil:How could they deform such a beautiful landscape?
de•form1
(di fôrm′),USA pronunciation v.t.
v.i.
de•form′a•ble, adj.
de•form′a•bil′i•ty, n.
de•form′a•tive, adj.
de•form′er, n.
de•form2 (di fôrm′),USA pronunciation adj. [Archaic.]
- to mar the natural form or shape of;
put out of shape;
disfigure:In cases where the drug was taken during pregnancy, its effects deformed the infants. - to make ugly, ungraceful, or displeasing;
mar the beauty of;
spoil:The trees had been completely deformed by the force of the wind. - to change the form of;
transform. - Geology, Mechanicsto subject to deformation:The metal was deformed under stress.
v.i.
- Civil Engineeringto undergo deformation.
- Latin dēfōrmāre, equivalent. to dē- de- + fōrmāre to form
- Middle English deformen 1350–1400
de•form′a•bil′i•ty, n.
de•form′a•tive, adj.
de•form′er, n.
- 1. misshape. See mar. 2. ruin.
de•form2 (di fôrm′),USA pronunciation adj. [Archaic.]
- deformed;
ugly.
- Latin dēformis, equivalent. to dē- de- + -formis -form
- Middle English defo(u)rme 1350–1400
'deformation' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
diastrophism
- elastic
- involution
- resilient
- restitution
- shear
- slip
- stress
- structural
- tectonic
- twist
- anelasticity
- cataclasis
- cold
- creep
- deform
- dwarf
- elastic deformation
- elastic limit
- elastic wave
- electrostriction
- extensometer
- fanleaf
- flowage
- hardness
- hot
- maypop
- memory
- modulus of elasticity
- Newtonian fluid
- nitinol
- ofay
- overstress
- Paget's disease
- plastic flow
- recrystallize
- residual stress
- rheology
- tension
- thermoelastic
- wave cyclone
- worm
- secondary stress
- set
- strain
- superplastic