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malformed
adjective
mal·formed
ˌmal-ˈfȯrmd
: characterized by malformation : badly or imperfectly formed : misshapen
Examples of malformed in a Sentence
a clay sculpture of an eagle that was so malformed that it looked more like a feathered football
Recent Examples on the Web
This fungus is not very damaging, and the galls (tumor-like malformed leaf tissue) can just be plucked off and thrown out.
—Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 16 May 2024
Both had piercing blue eyes, inherited from their mother, Ella Friedman Oppenheimer, an artist with a malformed hand always hidden in a glove.
—Kc Cole, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Mar. 2024
This attack vector requires a pretty significant hoop to jump through, which is installing an untrusted, malformed app.
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 13 Dec. 2023
Mail crashes on launch after receiving a malformed email.
—Yoni Heisler, BGR, 18 Oct. 2022
Van der Horst thinks that the rodent’s odd social structure is responsible for its malformed sperm.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 4 Dec. 2011
The cranium has ruminated for decades in a display case, amid pathological and anatomical anomalies such as malformed fetuses and pickled liver stones.
—New York Times, 14 Feb. 2020
One was a jokey baking show in which each participant had made some kind of malformed cake to be mocked by the judges; the other saw Murphy play a manic Christmas elf telling a TV reporter about a polar-bear attack.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 22 Dec. 2019
The malformed cells can get stuck in small blood vessels, resulting in severe pain and, over time, organ degradation.
—Erin Allday, SFChronicle.com, 22 Sep. 2019
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'malformed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1817, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near malformed
Cite this Entry
“Malformed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malformed. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
malformed
adjective
mal·formed
(ˈ)mal-ˈfȯ(ə)rmd
: marked by malformation : badly or imperfectly formed : misshapen
Medical Definition
malformed
adjective
mal·formed
(ˈ)mal-ˈfȯ(ə)rmd
: characterized by malformation : badly or imperfectly formed
a malformed limb
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