Meaning & use

malformed

adjective·Academic

Formed or shaped incorrectly or abnormally, whether physically or structurally.

See it in a sentence

The vet treated a bird born with a malformed wing.

The program crashed immediately after receiving a malformed data file.

A note on using this word

Malformed applies both to living things with physical deformities and to abstract structures like code that break the correct format.

Words with a similar meaning

deformedmisshapen

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

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