misgrow

English

Etymology

From mis- +‎ grow.

Verb

misgrow (third-person singular simple present misgrows, present participle misgrowing, simple past misgrew, past participle misgrown)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To grow incorrectly or amiss.
   • 1940, Charles Sherrington, Man on his Nature:

     Fingers or toes may misgrow club-like together. One kidney may fail. The head may contain practically no brain.

   • 1966, Benedetto Croce, Philosophy, poetry, history:

     The notion was that thereafter the first poetic language decayed and misgrew into workaday language, of merely instrumental usefulness, and only from time to time was it by the miracle of genius rediscovered by some few who were able to [...]

   • 1995, Erin Belieu, Infanta:

     The Spring Burials Violets growing through the asphalt mean the usual of spring's predicament: how, busy getting born, still wings and green will falter, twist, misgrow their management and die.

Derived terms

• misgrown
• misgrowth