Conform
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -É”Ë(r)m
- RP IPA: /kÉ™nˈfÉ”Ëm/
- GenAm IPA: /kənˈfɔɹm/
- Hyphenation: con + form
Origin
From Middle English conformen, from Old French conformer, from Latin conformÄre ("to mould, to shape after")
Full definition of conform
Verb
- (intransitive, of persons, often followed by to) To act in accordance with expectations; to behave in the manner of others, especially as a result of social pressure.
- 1822, Walter Scott, Peveril of the Peak, ch. 1:He had a dispensation for conforming in outward observances to the Protestant faith.
- 1839, Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle, ch. 4:By conforming to the dress and habits of the Gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity in the country.
- (intransitive, of things, situations, etc.) To be in accordance with a set of specifications or regulations, or with a policy or guideline.
- 1919, Hildegard G. Frey, The Camp Fire Girls Do Their Bit, ch. 11:In height and breadth it conformed to the prescribed measurements laid down by the rules of the contest.
- 2006 22 Dec., "Judge Cuts Amount of Vioxx Award ," New York Times (retrieved 7 June 2011)A judge in a Texas widow’s lawsuit over the Merck drug Vioxx reduced a $32 million jury award to about $7.75 million on Thursday so that it conformed to state law.
- (transitive) To make similar in form or nature; to make suitable for a purpose; to adapt.
- circa 1710 Jonathan Swift, "Vanbrugh's House" in The Poems of Jonathan Swift (1910 edition):There is a worm by Phoebus bred,By leaves of mulberry is fed,Which unprovided where to dwell,Conforms itself to weave a cell.
- 1836, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature, ch. 6:The sensual man conforms thoughts to things; the poet conforms things to his thoughts.
Synonyms
- (act in accordance with expectations) acquiesce, comply, go along to get along, knuckle under, submit