misshapen
/mɪsˈʃeɪ.pən/adjective, verb
misshapen is spelled M-I-S-S-H-A-P-E-N: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, misshapen means “Having a bad, ugly or awkward shape; deformed; malformed; ill-shapen” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in misshapen?
| Letters | 9: M-I-S-S-H-A-P-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 52,337th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is misshapen?
Misshapen appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce misshapen?
- /mɪsˈʃeɪ.pən/
- [mɪʃˈʃeɪ.pən]
Misshapen has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-misshapen.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of misshapen
- more misshapen comparative
- most misshapen superlative
- mis-shapen
- mishapen
- misshapens present, singular, he/she/it
- misshapening participle, present
- misshapened participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does misshapen mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having a bad, ugly or awkward shape; deformed; malformed; ill-shapen.
- 2
Morally or intellectually warped.
verb
- 1
Synonym of misshape.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Misshapen in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense deformed:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | missgestaltet |
| Spanish | malhecho |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does misshapen come from?
Inherited from Middle English mysshapen, misse shapen, mysshape, mysshap; equivalent to mis- + shapen.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).