🗂️ A type or kind 🔷 Shape or structure 📄 A document 👥 To create a group ☁️ To take shape 🦠 A variant group 👐 To make or shape 🏅 Performance level 🌊 To make up 🧠 To establish 🔤 Word shape 👩‍🎓 A student group 🧍 A mannequin 🧱 A mold or frame

to form

80 3.9

To make an idea or habit become fixed in someone's mind

verb
/fɔrm/

: formar

If the result is positive, it may form the basis for similar decisions in the future.
form an opinion
form a mental image
form mental images

Because now the question starts to form in his head, am I not good enough as I am?

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Examples

Print or Braille awareness is an important concept in forming the foundations of literacy.

Academic text (1991)
Teachers work hard to form good study habits in their students.
Because now the question starts to form in his head, am I not good enough as I am?

Stephan Speaks
Okay, try and form the words "I wish."

Aladdin (2019)
My father had worked hard to form my character, to make me like himself... tough and afraid of nothing.

Surviving Picasso (1996)
A person forms certain ways of living, and one day it's too late to change.

Picnic (1955)
Look, instead of worrying about what people think, form your own opinion of yourself.

On Angel's Wings (2014)
Environmental attitudes are formed by many influences over a long period of time.

Academic text (1999)
Frau Achele told her children to form their own opinions of the world.

Academic text (2011)
Too many people assume things and then form opinions wrongly based on false assumptions.

Bloodbath at the House of Death (1984)

Synonyms

to plant

vsto form

108 6.4

To put an idea or feeling into someone's mind so it stays there

is about firm establishment rather than focusing on the initial introduction

to instill

vsto form

71 4.8

To gradually make someone feel, believe, or value something

is about firm establishment rather than gradual slow development

to entrench

vsto form

45 6.7

To make an idea or belief so strong that it is hard to change

is about firm establishment but does not always stress resistance to change

to ingrain

vsto form

31 6.1

To make a habit or idea a strong lasting part of someone's life

is about firm establishment without adding the extra sense of depth

to implant

vsto form

16 5.7

Put a strong idea or belief into someone's mind

is similar but does not stress the same extreme depth or rootedness

to imprint

vsto form

12 4.8

To fix an idea firmly in someone's mind so they remember it

is focused on firm establishment without emphasising lasting memory

to inculcate

vsto form

Formal

9 8.1

Teach someone a belief or habit by repeating it often

is about creating firm belief without requiring repeated teaching or instruction

to tattoo

vsto form

3 6.0

To make an image or memory stay clearly in someone's mind

is about firm establishment without implying the same permanent marking

to inoculate

vsto form

Specialized

2 7.4

To teach someone ideas to protect them from other opinions

is about establishing belief generally rather than preventing other influences

to engraining

vsto form

7.3

To make an idea or habit stay in a person's mind

is about general firm establishment rather than specific fixation in character

Antonyms

to forget

∞ 1.0

Not remember something you should remember

to unlearn

9 6.4

To stop a habit or belief you had before

Idioms

true to form

Informal

9 4.1

Happening or acting in the usual way as before

in rare form

Informal

4 7.6

Doing something much better than usual with extra energy

in no way, shape, or form

3 5.6

It is not true or possible in any way

to return to form

1 4.6

Get back to a previous good level of ability after a time of decline

Phrasal Verbs

to change form

4 3.9

To become a different shape or look

to take form

4 3.5

To begin to develop and become clear in shape or idea

to fill in the form

1 1.0

To complete a paper or online form by writing your personal details

to form bubbles

1 2.9

Make small round pockets of air inside or on a liquid

to form a ruck

Jargon

8.7

In rugby, gather closely over a tackled player to protect and try to get the ball

Compounds

life form

127 2.8

A plant, an animal, or a tiny organism

art form

55 3.2

A particular type of art, like music, painting, or dance

life form

Specialized

37 3.4

The physical shape and parts of a plant or animal

tax form

Formal

12 2.8

An official paper you use to tell the government how much money you earn and owe in tax

application form

8 2.0

A document with questions to fill in when you apply for a job or a course

order form

6 2.0

A printed or online page you fill to ask for goods and services

form letter

5 3.2

A letter sent to many people with the same text

requisition form

Formal

4 4.1

An official paper you use to ask for supplies or services from an organization

claim form

Formal

3 2.9

A document you fill in to ask for money back from an insurance company

good form

3 4.9

Polite behavior people expect in social situations

free-form

2 5.3

A work that does not follow fixed rules or structure

form of address

1 3.4

A way of speaking used when you talk to someone to show their title or relationship

free form

Specialized

1 6.5

A small part of language that can be a whole word

plural form

1 1.6

A change in a word that shows more than one person or thing

citation form

Texting

1 7.5

The basic form of a word that a dictionary lists

verse form

Literature

1 7.0

A type of poem with a set number of lines and rhythm like a sonnet or haiku

bound form

Specialized

9.6

A small part added to a word that cannot stand alone, like -s in cats and -ed in walked

combining form

Specialized

8.1

A small word part from Greek or Latin that appears only inside longer words

baking form

2.6

A pan that holds batter or dough while it bakes

form book

Jargon

6.7

A record of past results and details about competitors that helps people decide bets

form class

Specialized

6.9

A group of words that do the same job in grammar, like a noun or verb

form division

Archaic

9.9

An old artificial group that scientists used to sort plants

form family

Specialized

9.9

A temporary group scientists use for plants or animals when it is not clear how they are related

form genus Rhizoctinia

Specialized

9.9

A group name for fungi seen only in their non-sexual stage, often causing plant disease

form genus

Specialized

9.9

A temporary group for living things, often fossils, whose relations to others are unclear

leaf form

5.6

The shape of a plant leaf that helps identify species

major form class

Specialized

7.7

A main group of words like nouns, verbs, and adjectives that show a word's role in a sentence

imperative form

Specialized

4.4

A verb form used to give a command or request

plural form

Specialized

3.7

One translation used for different numbers, like one or many

telegraph form

Archaic

8.2

A printed form you use to write a telegram

singular form

Specialized

1.8

The form of a word used for one person or thing

sonata form

Specialized

8.6

A musical pattern with three main parts used at the start of many symphonies and sonatas

word form

Specialized

4.1

A written or spoken version of a word showing its grammar and sound

How Firmly

to cement

38 4.4

to embed

88 4.8

to form

80 3.9

to plant

108 6.4

to instill

71 4.8

Surface Forms

form infinitive

formed past

formed past participle

forming present participle

forms third person singular

Etymology

Form comes from the Latin formare 'to shape', and to form an idea or habit is to shape it in the mind so it becomes fixed, which is why 'form' can mean to establish something inside you.