The quality or state of lacking a clear, defined shape or structure; shapelessness.
From form (Latin forma, 'shape') + -less (Old English -leas, 'without') + -ness (Old English -nes, 'condition'). The suffix combination creates an abstract noun describing the absence of form.
Formlessness fascinated medieval philosophers and artists trying to describe chaos—before 'formlessness,' they had no English word for things without shape, so they borrowed from Latin. It's why abstract art in the 1900s loved this concept: pure formlessness was revolutionary.
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