conform

English

Etymology

From Middle English conformen, from Old French conformer, from Latin conformāre (“to mould, to shape after”)

Pronunciation

Rhymes: -ɔː(r)m
(RP) IPA: /kənˈfɔːm/, X-SAMPA: /k@n"fO:m/
(GenAm) IPA: /kənˈfɔɹm/, X-SAMPA: /k@n"fOrm/
Hyphenation: con‧form

Verb

conform (third-person singular simple present conforms, present participle conforming, simple past and past participle conformed)

(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, Sir Walter Scott, Peveril of the Peak, ch. 1:
  [H]e had a dispensation for conforming in outward observances to the Protestant faith.
- 1839, Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle, ch. 4:
  [B]y 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

Related terms

Terms etymologically related to conform

Translations

Act in accordance with expectations; behave in the manner of others

Bulgarian: съответствувам (bg) (sǎotvetstvuvam)
Dutch: conform (nl)
French: s'aligner (fr)

Romanian: acorda (ro), concorda (ro)
Russian: соответствовать (ru) (sootvetstvovatʹ), быть подобным (ru) (bytʹ podobnym)

To be in accordance with a set of specifications

Bulgarian: съобразявам се (bg) (sǎobrazjavam se), подчинявам се на (bg) (podčinjavam se na)
Finnish: noudattaa (fi)
French: se conformer (à)
Polish: dostosować się (pl)
Portuguese: conformar (pt), estar em conformidade com (pt)

Romanian: conforma (ro)
Russian: согласоваться (ru) (soglasovatʹsja),соответствовать (ru) (sootvetstvovatʹ), сообразовывать (ru) (soobrazovyvatʹ), сообразовываться (ru) (soobrazovyvatʹsja), подчиняться (ru) (podčinjatʹsja)
Turkish: uymak (tr)