What does amorphous mean?
Word: Amorphous
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Amorphous means having no definite form or organised structure.
Synonyms: formless
Antonyms: structured
How do you spell amorphous?
Syllables: a - mor - phous
Tricky part: The f sound is spelt ph, just as it is in phone and graph.
Watch out for: amorfous, amorpous
Memory tip: Draw a blob with no clear edge and write ph inside it: no letter f is allowed anywhere in this word.
Amorphous in a sentence
Example 1: At first our plan for the fair was only an amorphous idea.
Example 2: The jelly settled into an amorphous blob on the plate.
Example 3: Under the microscope the cells looked like amorphous specks.
Fun Fact
Glass is a well-known amorphous solid: its atoms have no regular pattern, unlike the neat rows inside a salt crystal.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word amorphous as used in the sentence:
A pale, amorphous cloud drifted across the hilltop at sunrise.
a) heavy
b) distant
c) colourful
d) shapeless
Show answer
d) shapeless. A cloud with no clear outline is shapeless.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters to find the word that fits the sentence:
The sculptor turned an psuhoamro lump of clay into a graceful swan.
a) anonymous
b) amorphous
c) ambiguous
d) adventurous
Show answer
b) amorphous. A p and an h among the letters fit only one of these.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct letters to form a word:
am_rph__s
a) o, o, i
b) a, o, u
c) o, o, u
d) o, u, o
Show answer
c) o, o, u. An o follows the m, and the ending is the familiar ous of famous.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. transperent 2. amorphous 3. indefinate 4. nebulus
a) lacking a fixed outline
b) going on for no fixed length of time
c) allowing you to see through it
d) vague and not clear in the mind
Show answer
a) lacking a fixed outline. Nebulous ends in ous, indefinite in ite, and transparent has an a after the p.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. You could fairly call ____ amorphous.
a) a six-sided honeycomb cell
b) a folded paper aeroplane
c) a square chessboard
d) a drifting patch of fog
Show answer
d) a drifting patch of fog
2. An essay with an amorphous argument needs ____.
a) a neater style of handwriting
b) a much clearer plan and order
c) a larger font and wider margins
d) a more colourful cover page
Show answer
b) a much clearer plan and order
