Misform

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To incorrectly shape or mold something; to produce a defective or improperly arranged form; the state or result of being badly structured or misshapen
2. The act of creating an object with a faulty or inaccurate form; the process of deforming or improperly constructing; the condition characterized by a flawed or distorted appearance
3. The process of shaping wrongly or inaccurately; making an item or structure improperly configured; a malformed or misshapen condition resulting from incorrect formation

Etymology: "Misform" is a plain compound: the prefix "mis-", meaning wrongly or badly, attached to "form," which comes via Old French from Latin "forma," shape or appearance. Put together, the verb means to shape something incorrectly, so that the result comes out with a faulty or distorted form rather than the intended one. The meaning follows the sense of the parts closely. Where "form" names the shape something takes, "misform" names a failure of that shaping, whether in the making of an object or in the resulting flawed appearance itself. The pattern is productive in English, so the word needs no special story; it simply says what its two halves say.

Synonyms: deform, distort, misshape, mishape, malform

Antonyms: form, shape, mold, fashion, structure