Meaning & use
zoomorphic
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparabletechnical
Shaped like an animal, or decorated with animal forms, as in art, design and ancient objects.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: a zoomorphic figure, zoomorphic jewelry.
The museum displays a zoomorphic bronze vessel shaped like a bull.
Viking jewelry often features zoomorphic patterns of twisting beasts.
The architect designed a zoomorphic chair with legs like a deer's.
adjectivenot comparablereligiontechnical
Describing a god or spirit shown with the body or features of an animal, or believed to take animal form.
Grammar: Common in religion and mythology, before a noun: a zoomorphic deity.
Ancient Egyptians worshipped zoomorphic gods such as the falcon-headed Horus.
The story features a zoomorphic spirit that appears as a fox.
Scholars compare zoomorphic deities across many early cultures.
Common combinations
- a zoomorphic figure
- A zoomorphic figure with a lion's body guarded the gate.
- a zoomorphic deity
- The temple honors a zoomorphic deity with a cat's head.
- zoomorphic design
- The vase's zoomorphic design shows two intertwined serpents.
- zoomorphic ornament
- Zoomorphic ornament covers the handle of the sword.
- zoomorphic imagery
- Zoomorphic imagery was common in medieval manuscripts.
- zoomorphic pottery
- Zoomorphic pottery was buried with the dead.
Synonyms and how they differ
- animal-shaped
- Animal-shaped is the plain everyday phrase, while zoomorphic is a scholarly word used in art history and religion.
- theriomorphic
- Theriomorphic is an even more technical term, mainly in religious studies, for gods or figures in the form of wild beasts.
- animalistic
- Animalistic describes behavior that seems like an animal's, whereas zoomorphic describes the form or appearance of something.
Opposites
Word family
- zoomorph noun
- an object or figure shaped like an animal
- zoomorphism noun
- the use of animal forms in art, or giving animal qualities to gods or people
- zoomorphically adverb
- in an animal-like form
- zoology noun
- the scientific study of animals
Commonly confused: zoomorphic or anthropomorphic?
zoomorphic vs anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphic means having human form or qualities, such as a talking rabbit in clothes. Zoomorphic is the reverse and means having animal form.
Practice
The museum's most unusual piece is a bronze vessel in a ___ design shaped like a bull.
Choose one answer.
Zoomorphic describes things shaped like animals, so a bull-shaped vessel fits. Anthropomorphic means human-like, geometric means made of shapes and lines, and abstract does not represent real forms.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “zoomorphic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.