POLYMORPHIC Definition & Meaning

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polymorphic

[ pol-ee-mawr-fik ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

Biology. (of a species) having more than one form or type as a result of discontinuous variation:
Cabbage, kale, broccoli, and cauliflower are all forms of a single polymorphic species.
Computers. of or relating to a virus or other malignant code that has many forms, changing as it replicates:
Polymorphic malware, which changes its identity up to 19 times a day to avoid detection while taking control of users' computers, has been successfully deactivated.
Crystallography. of or relating to a substance that crystallizes into two or more forms having different structure but identical chemistry:
The pharmaceutical under study here, at five structurally characterized forms, is one of the most polymorphic drugs known.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of polymorphic¹

poly- ( def ) + -morphic ( def )

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

T. cristinae is polymorphic in regard to its body color and pattern.

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"Our study, for the first time ever, showed that various polymorphic structures of borophene interact with cells differently and their cellular internalization pathways are uniquely dictated by their structures."

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However, this material is polymorphic, meaning it has multiple phases with different crystalline structures.

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The technology also aims to produce advanced “polymorphic” malware that can rapidly evade network security software, the report said.

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The genes that code for each opsin has seven sites in the gene that are polymorphic: They can have different letters of DNA.

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