misshapen

adjective

mis·​shap·​en ˌmis-ˈshā-pən 

1

: having an ugly or deformed shape

It is, in fact, a homely and misshapen little gray airplane that looks like it was cobbled together in someone's garage.

—Patricia Trenner

2

: morally or intellectually deformed or distorted

misshapen ideas of justice

misshapenly adverb

She has brought Trot, her mangy mongrel, with her. He lies misshapenly across her vast lap …

—John le Carré

misshapenness noun

… masterpieces of dullness, misshapenness, and folly …

—Louis Simpson

Synonyms

• deformed
• distorted
• malformed
• monstrous
• shapeless

Examples of misshapen in a Sentence

the returning camper proudly presented his mother with a misshapen clay bowl that he had made in crafts class

Recent Examples on the Web

The welfare state Trump seeks to reform is a misshapen layer cake of liberal ambitions. —Matthew Continetti, National Review, 1 Feb. 2025

But Collins continued Monday to hammer at the government’s version of the evidence, saying prosecutors were trying to shove misshapen puzzle pieces into a false picture and make innocent conduct appear criminal. —Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, 27 Jan. 2025

Ella came into her session one day clutching several scraps of paper covered in childlike writing: shaky words with misshapen letters and misspellings. —Rebecca J. Lester, Scientific American, 1 June 2023

Robert pulled a misshapen earthenware pot from the hotel room’s closet. —Oren Peleg, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

misshapen

adjective

mis·​shap·​en

(ˈ)mis-ˈshā-pən,

(ˈ)mish-

: badly shaped : having an ugly shape