Form vs. Mold: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 25, 2023
Form refers to the shape, structure, or visible makeup of something; mold is either a framework shaping a substance or a fungus growing on organic matter.
Key Differences
Form generally refers to the external appearance or structure of something, emphasizing its physical shape or design. In contrast, Mold can either mean a frame or hollow container used to give shape to a malleable substance, or it refers to a type of fungus that grows on various materials.
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Nov 15, 2023
Forms can be abstract, such as the form of an idea, or concrete, like the form of a sculpture. Mold, when used in a manufacturing context, is a solid template or container into which material is poured or pressed to create a specific shape.
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In the biological sense, form can describe the body shape or structure of an organism. Mold, in its biological meaning, refers to a fungus that appears as woolly or furry growth, typically thriving in moist or decaying organic matter.
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The concept of form is also used in art and design, denoting the visual aspects of a work or object. Mold, when used in the context of craft or industry, involves the process of shaping a material like plastic, glass, or metal into a predetermined form.
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Form can be used in various contexts, from physical shapes to manners and types. Mold as a noun describes a tool for shaping, while as a verb, it means to influence the formation or development of something.
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Comparison Chart
Primary Meaning
Shape or structure of something
Framework for shaping or type of fungus
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Context of Use
Broad, including physical and abstract uses
Manufacturing, crafts, biology (fungus)
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As a Biological Term
Body shape or structure
Fungus growing on organic matter
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Functionality
Descriptive; denotes appearance
Active; used for shaping or describing growth
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Form and Mold Definitions
Form
The manner or style of arranging and coordinating parts.
The form of the building was modernistic.
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Form
A mold used to give shape to something.
They used a form to cast the sculpture.
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Nov 10, 2023
Form
A document with spaces for information.
Please fill out this application form.
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Form
The body or outward appearance of a person or an animal; figure
In the fog we could see two forms standing on the bridge.
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Oct 19, 2023
Form
A model of the human figure or part of it used for displaying clothes.
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Mold
Distinctive character or type
A leader in the mold of her predecessors.
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Mold
A fixed or restrictive pattern or form
A method of scientific investigation that broke the mold and led to a new discovery.
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Form
The way in which a thing exists, acts, or manifests itself
An element usually found in the form of a gas.
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Form
(Philosophy) The essential or ideal nature of something, especially as distinguished from its matter or material being.
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Mold
Any of various filamentous fungi that grow on and contribute to the decay of organic matter.
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Form
(Botany) A subdivision of a variety usually differing in one trivial characteristic, such as flower color.
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Mold
Any of various other saprophytic or parasitic organisms that resemble fungi, such as slime molds or water molds.
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Form
Method of arrangement or manner of coordinating elements in verbal or musical composition
Presented my ideas in outline form.
A treatise in the form of a dialogue.
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Form
A particular type or example of such arrangement
The essay is a literary form.
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Form
Procedure as determined or governed by regulation or custom
Gave his consent solely as a matter of form.
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Form
Manners or conduct as governed by etiquette, decorum, or custom
Arriving late to a wedding is considered bad form.
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Form
A fixed order of words or procedures, as for use in a ceremony
"As they had never had a funeral aboard a ship, they began rehearsing the forms so as to be ready" (Arthur Conan Doyle).
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Mold
To form (something) out of a fluid or plastic material
Molded a cup out of clay.
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Form
A document with blanks for the insertion of details or information
Insurance forms.
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Mold
To form into a particular shape; give shape to
Molded the clay into a ball.
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Form
Performance considered with regard to acknowledged criteria
A musician at the top of her form.
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Mold
To guide or determine the growth or development of; influence
A teacher who helps to mold the minds of his students.
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Form
A pattern of behavior or performance
Remained true to form and showed up late.
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Mold
To fit closely by following the contours of (the body). Used of clothing.
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Form
Fitness, as of an athlete or animal, with regard to health or training
A dog in excellent form.
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Form
A grade in a British secondary school or in some American private schools
The sixth form.
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Form
The external aspect of words with regard to their inflections, pronunciation, or spelling.
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Mold
Distinctive character or type.
A leader in the mold of her predecessors
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Mold
A fixed or restrictive pattern or form.
His method of scientific investigation broke the mold and led to a new discovery.
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Form
To develop in the mind; conceive
Her reading led her to form a different opinion.
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Mold
(architecture) A group of moldings.
The arch mold of a porch or doorway;
The pier mold of a Gothic pier, meaning the whole profile, section, or combination of parts
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Form
To arrange oneself in
Holding out his arms, the cheerleader formed a T. The acrobats formed a pyramid.
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Mold
A natural substance in the form of a woolly or furry growth of tiny fungi that appears when organic material lies for a long time exposed to (usually warm and moist) air.
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Form
To fashion, train, or develop by instruction, discipline, or precept
Formed the recruits into excellent soldiers.
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Form
To come to have; develop or acquire
He formed the habit of walking to work.
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Form
To constitute or compose, especially out of separate elements
The bones that form the skeleton.
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Mold
(transitive) To shape in or on a mold; to form into a particular shape; to give shape to.
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Mold
(transitive) To guide or determine the growth or development of; influence
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Form
To become formed or shaped
Add enough milk so the dough forms easily into balls.
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Form
To come into being by taking form; arise
Clouds will form in the afternoon.
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Mold
(transitive) To make a mold of or from (molten metal, for example) before casting.
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Form
To assume a specified form, shape, or pattern
The soldiers formed into a column.
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Mold
(intransitive) To be shaped in or as if in a mold.
These shoes gradually molded to my feet.
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Mold
(intransitive) To become moldy; to be covered or filled, in whole or in part, with a mold.
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Form
(philosophy) The inherent nature of an object; that which the mind itself contributes as the condition of knowing; that in which the essence of a thing consists.
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Mold
Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil.
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Mold
Earthy material; the matter of which anything is formed; composing substance; material.
The etherial mold,Incapable of stain.
Nature formed me of her softest mold.
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Form
(fine arts) The boundary line of a material object. In painting, more generally, the human body.
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Mold
A growth of minute fungi of various kinds, esp. those of the great groups Hyphomycetes, and Physomycetes, forming on damp or decaying organic matter.
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Form
(crystallography) The combination of planes included under a general crystallographic symbol. It is not necessarily a closed solid.
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Mold
The matrix, or cavity, in which anything is shaped, and from which it takes its form; also, the body or mass containing the cavity; as, a sand mold; a jelly mold.
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Mold
That on which, or in accordance with which, anything is modeled or formed; anything which serves to regulate the size, form, etc., as the pattern or templet used by a shipbuilder, carpenter, or mason.
The glass of fashion and the mold of form.
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Mold
Cast; form; shape; character.
Crowned with an architrave of antique mold.
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Form
Established method of expression or practice; fixed way of proceeding; conventional or stated scheme; formula.
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Mold
A group of moldings; as, the arch mold of a porch or doorway; the pier mold of a Gothic pier, meaning the whole profile, section, or combination of parts.
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Form
Constitution; mode of construction, organization, etc.; system.
A republican form of government
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Form
Show without substance; empty, outside appearance; vain, trivial, or conventional ceremony; conventionality; formality.
A matter of mere form
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Mold
A frame with a wire cloth bottom, on which the pump is drained to form a sheet, in making paper by hand.
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Form
Level of performance.
The team's form has been poor this year.
The orchestra was on top form this evening.
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Mold
To become moldy; to be covered or filled, in whole or in part, with a mold.
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Form
A class or year of school pupils (often preceded by an ordinal number to specify the year, as in sixth form).
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Mold
To form into a particular shape; to shape; to model; to fashion.
He forgeth and moldeth metals.
Did I request thee, Maker, from my clayTo mold me man?
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Form
A blank document or template to be filled in by the user.
To apply for the position, complete the application form.
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Mold
To ornament by molding or carving the material of; as, a molded window jamb.
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Form
(grammar) A grouping of words which maintain grammatical context in different usages; the particular shape or structure of a word or part of speech.
Participial forms;
Verb forms
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Mold
The distinctive form in which a thing is made;
Pottery of this cast was found throughout the region
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Mold
Container into which liquid is poured to create a given shape when it hardens
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Form
The type or other matter from which an impression is to be taken, arranged and secured in a chase.
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Mold
A fungus that produces a superficial growth on various kinds of damp or decaying organic matter
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Oct 19, 2023
Form
(transitive) To assume (a certain shape or visible structure).
When you kids form a straight line I'll hand out the lollies.
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Mold
Become moldy; spoil due to humidity;
The furniture molded in the old house
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Oct 19, 2023
Form
(transitive) To give (a shape or visible structure) to a thing or person.
Roll out the dough to form a thin sheet.
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Mold
Form by pouring (e.g., wax or hot metal) into a cast or mold;
Cast a bronze sculpture
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Form
(intransitive) To take shape.
When icicles start to form on the eaves you know the roads will be icy.
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Mold
Make something, usually for a specific function;
She molded the riceballs carefully
Form cylinders from the dough
Shape a figure
Work the metal into a sword
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Form
To put together or bring into being; assemble.
The socialists did not have enough MPs to form a government.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon formed The Beatles in Liverpool in 1960.
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Mold
Fit tightly, follow the contours of;
The dress molds her beautiful figure
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Form
To create (a word) by inflection or derivation.
By adding "-ness", you can form a noun from an adjective.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mold
Shape or influence; give direction to;
Experience often determines ability
Mold public opinion
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Oct 19, 2023
Form
(transitive) To constitute, to compose, to make up.
Teenagers form the bulk of extreme traffic offenders.
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Mold
A hollow container used to give shape to a material.
They poured the liquid into a mold to create the figure.
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Form
To mould or model by instruction or discipline.
Singing in a choir helps to form a child's sociality.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mold
A fungus that grows in the form of multicellular filaments.
There was mold on the old bread.
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Nov 10, 2023
Mold
A distinctive and typical style, manner, or character.
He broke the mold with his innovative design.
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Nov 10, 2023
Form
To treat (plates) to prepare them for introduction into a storage battery, causing one plate to be composed more or less of spongy lead, and the other of lead peroxide. This was formerly done by repeated slow alternations of the charging current, but later the plates or grids were coated or filled, one with a paste of red lead and the other with litharge, introduced into the cell, and formed by a direct charging current.
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Mold
To shape a substance in a mold.
The artisan molded the clay into a vase.
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Form
The shape and structure of anything, as distinguished from the material of which it is composed; particular disposition or arrangement of matter, giving it individuality or distinctive character; configuration; figure; external appearance.
The form of his visage was changed.
And woven close close, both matter, form, and style.
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Mold
To influence the formation or development of something.
Her experiences molded her personality.
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Nov 10, 2023
Form
Constitution; mode of construction, organization, etc.; system; as, a republican form of government.
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Oct 19, 2023
Form
Established method of expression or practice; fixed way of proceeding; conventional or stated scheme; formula; as, a form of prayer.
Those whom form of lawsCondemned to die.
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Form
Show without substance; empty, outside appearance; vain, trivial, or conventional ceremony; conventionality; formality; as, a matter of mere form.
Though well we may not pass upon his lifeWithout the form of justice.
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Oct 19, 2023
Form
Orderly arrangement; shapeliness; also, comeliness; elegance; beauty.
The earth was without form and void.
He hath no form nor comeliness.
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Oct 19, 2023
Form
A long seat; a bench; hence, a rank of students in a school; a class; also, a class or rank in society.
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Oct 19, 2023
Form
The type or other matter from which an impression is to be taken, arranged and secured in a chase.
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Form
The boundary line of a material object. In (painting), more generally, the human body.
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Form
The particular shape or structure of a word or part of speech; as, participial forms; verbal forms.
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Form
The combination of planes included under a general crystallographic symbol. It is not necessarily a closed solid.
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Form
That assemblage or disposition of qualities which makes a conception, or that internal constitution which makes an existing thing to be what it is; - called essential or substantial form, and contradistinguished from matter; hence, active or formative nature; law of being or activity; subjectively viewed, an idea; objectively, a law.
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Form
Mode of acting or manifestation to the senses, or the intellect; as, water assumes the form of ice or snow. In modern usage, the elements of a conception furnished by the mind's own activity, as contrasted with its object or condition, which is called the matter; subjectively, a mode of apprehension or belief conceived as dependent on the constitution of the mind; objectively, universal and necessary accompaniments or elements of every object known or thought of.
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Form
The peculiar characteristics of an organism as a type of others; also, the structure of the parts of an animal or plant.
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Form
To give form or shape to; to frame; to construct; to make; to fashion.
God formed man of the dust of the ground.
The thought that labors in my forming brain.
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Form
To give a particular shape to; to shape, mold, or fashion into a certain state or condition; to arrange; to adjust; also, to model by instruction and discipline; to mold by influence, etc.; to train.
'T is education forms the common mind.
Thus formed for speed, he challenges the wind.
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Form
To go to make up; to act as constituent of; to be the essential or constitutive elements of; to answer for; to make the shape of; - said of that out of which anything is formed or constituted, in whole or in part.
The diplomatic politicians . . . who formed by far the majority.
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Form
To derive by grammatical rules, as by adding the proper suffixes and affixes.
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Form
To treat (plates) so as to bring them to fit condition for introduction into a storage battery, causing one plate to be composed more or less of spongy lead, and the other of lead peroxide. This was formerly done by repeated slow alternations of the charging current, but now the plates or grids are coated or filled, one with a paste of red lead and the other with litharge, introduced into the cell, and formed by a direct charging current.
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Oct 19, 2023
Form
To take a form, definite shape, or arrangement; as, the infantry should form in column.
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Oct 19, 2023
Form
The phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something;
The inflected forms of a word can be represented by a stem and a list of inflections to be attached
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Form
A category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality;
Sculpture is a form of art
What kinds of desserts are there?
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Oct 19, 2023
Form
A perceptual structure;
The composition presents problems for students of musical form
A visual pattern must include not only objects but the spaces between them
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Form
Any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline);
He could barely make out their shapes through the smoke
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Form
Alternative names for the body of a human being;
Leonardo studied the human body
He has a strong physique
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak
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Oct 19, 2023
Form
The spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance;
Geometry is the mathematical science of shape
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Oct 19, 2023
Form
The visual appearance of something or someone;
The delicate cast of his features
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Form
(physical chemistry) a distinct state of matter in a system; matter that is identical in chemical composition and physical state and separated from other material by the phase boundary;
The reaction occurs in the liquid phase of the system
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Form
A printed document with spaces in which to write;
He filled out his tax form
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Form
(biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups;
A new strain of microorganisms
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Form
An arrangement of the elements in a composition or discourse;
The essay was in the form of a dialogue
He first sketches the plot in outline form
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Form
A particular mode in which something is manifested;
His resentment took the form of extreme hostility
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Form
A body of students who are taught together;
Early morning classes are always sleepy
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Form
An ability to perform well;
He was at the top of his form
The team was off form last night
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Form
A mold for setting concrete;
They built elaborate forms for pouring the foundation
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Form
To compose or represent:
This wall forms the background of the stage setting
The branches made a roof
This makes a fine introduction
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Oct 19, 2023
Form
Create (as an entity);
Social groups form everywhere
They formed a company
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Oct 19, 2023
Form
Make something, usually for a specific function;
She molded the riceballs carefully
Form cylinders from the dough
Shape a figure
Work the metal into a sword
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Oct 19, 2023
Form
Establish or impress firmly in the mind;
We imprint our ideas onto our children
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Oct 19, 2023
Form
The visible shape or configuration of something.
The form of the statue was striking.
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Nov 10, 2023
Repeatedly Asked Queries
What is mold in manufacturing?
In manufacturing, mold is a container used to shape materials.
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Nov 15, 2023
Is a form always physical?
Not always, it can also refer to abstract concepts.
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Nov 15, 2023
How does form relate to art?
In art, form relates to the visual aspects of a work.
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Nov 15, 2023
What kind of growth is mold?
Mold is a type of fungus that grows on organic matter.
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Nov 15, 2023
Can form refer to a document?
Yes, form can also mean a document with spaces for information.
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Nov 15, 2023
Does form influence function?
Often, the form of something influences its function.
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What is the biological significance of form?
In biology, form refers to an organism's shape or structure.
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Nov 15, 2023
What materials are molded?
Materials like plastic, metal, and clay are often molded.
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Nov 15, 2023
Can mold grow on non-organic materials?
Mold primarily grows on organic matter, but can affect non-organic surfaces.
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Nov 15, 2023
Are there health risks associated with mold?
Yes, exposure to certain molds can pose health risks.
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Nov 15, 2023
How is mold used in crafting?
Mold is used to shape materials in various crafts.
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Nov 15, 2023
Is mold only a negative term?
Not always, mold can be a useful tool in manufacturing and crafts.
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Nov 15, 2023
What environments does mold thrive in?
Mold typically thrives in moist or decaying environments.
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Nov 15, 2023
Can form be changed?
Yes, the form of something can be altered or redesigned.
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Nov 15, 2023
How is mold removed?
Mold is typically removed through cleaning and reducing moisture.
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Is form important in architecture?
Yes, form is a crucial aspect of architectural design.
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Does the form of an object affect its aesthetics?
Yes, the form significantly influences an object's aesthetic appeal.
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Nov 15, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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