amorphous

Meanings

1. 1adjectivecomparable

   Without a clear or fixed shape or outline.

   Grammar: Can come before a noun or after 'be': an amorphous cloud, or the shape was amorphous.

   Patterns

   • an amorphous mass
   • an amorphous shape

   An amorphous shape moved in the fog.

   The jelly spread into an amorphous blob on the plate.

   The sculpture looked like an amorphous lump of clay.

2. 2adjectivecomparablefigurative

   Lacking a clear plan, structure or purpose, so that it is vague.

   Grammar: Often applied to ideas, groups and goals that are hard to pin down.

   Patterns

   • an amorphous idea
   • an amorphous group

   The manager's goals were so amorphous that nobody knew what to do.

   They belonged to an amorphous group of activists.

   Her fears were amorphous and hard to describe.

3. 3adjectivenot comparabletechnicalchemistry

   Describing a solid, such as glass, whose atoms are not arranged in a regular crystal pattern.

   Grammar: Technical sense in chemistry and physics, normally before a noun: an amorphous solid.

   Patterns

   • amorphous solid
   • amorphous structure

   Glass is an amorphous solid, not a crystal.

   The scientists studied an amorphous form of carbon.

   Cooling the metal quickly produced an amorphous structure.

Common combinations

amorphous mass

The mold grew into an amorphous mass on the bread.

amorphous shape

An amorphous shape drifted across the screen.

amorphous solid

Plastic is often an amorphous solid.

amorphous concept

Fairness is an amorphous concept for many people.

amorphous group

The movement was an amorphous group with no leader.

Synonyms and how they differ

shapeless

Shapeless is the plain everyday word, while amorphous is more formal and also has scientific uses.

formless

Formless suggests something with no form at all, often in an abstract or mystical way, while amorphous can describe messy physical blobs too.

vague

Vague means unclear in meaning or detail, and amorphous adds the idea of having no definite outline or structure.

nebulous

Nebulous is nearly always used for ideas and has a cloudy, hazy feeling, whereas amorphous also covers physical shapes.

Opposites

Word family

amorphously adverb

in a shapeless or unstructured way

amorphousness noun

the state of having no clear shape or structure

morphology noun

the study of form and structure

metamorphosis noun

a complete change of form

Commonly confused: amorphous or amorous?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “amorphous”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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