Meaning & use

morphology

noun·Advanced

The study of the forms and internal structure of words, including how they are built from smaller meaningful parts.

See it in a sentence

In her morphology class, students learned how prefixes and suffixes change a word's meaning.

The linguist analyzed the morphology of the verb to explain its many forms.

A note on using this word

Morphology also names the study of the form and structure of living organisms in biology, a separate but related scientific use.

Words with a similar meaning

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Another way to use it

2. noun

The branch of biology concerned with the form and structure of organisms.

The course covered the morphology of insects, from wing shape to leg structure.

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