a-, an-

1. Neither moral nor immoral: "Ervin is considered an amoral man who is pursuing his own personal goals."
2. Not concerned with or amenable to moral judgments; not caring about good behavior or morals; lacking moral principles: "As the CEO of the company, Dianna was accused of working in a cynical and amoral way of competing for more sales and greater profits."

1. Without shape or form: "An amorph lacks a discernible form and so it can be described as amorphous or having an irregular or an undefined shape or structure."
2. A gene which is inactive or that has a complete loss of gene functions: "Some amorphs are mutations that cause complete losses of gene functions which are the parts of cells in living things that control their physical characteristics, growths, and developments."

1. Lacking the ability to recognize the size and shape of objects: "Winston's amorphagnosia made it impossible for him to have the skills to understand what anyone meant when he is told to pick up his Teddy Bear or any of the other toys that were available for his use."
2. Etymology: from the Greek prefix a, "without, not" + Greek morphe, "shape" + Greek gnosis, "knowledge".

1. Having no definite form; shapeless, formless; such as, amorphous clouds: "Lying on his back in the grassy field, Brendan could watch the amorphous cloud formations float overhead."
2. Not belonging to a particular type or pattern: "Toby's amorphous commitment to regularly paid employment was difficult to understand."
3. Of no particular kind or character; indeterminate; having no pattern or structure; unorganized: "Kari has an amorphous style; as well as, an amorphous personality."
4. In petrology, a mineral occurring in a mass, as without stratification, form, or crystalline structure: "The amorphous layer of sand was mixed with an unidentified hard substance which made drilling difficult."
5. In chemistry, not crystalline: "The crystalline structures were noticeably distinctive among the other more amorphous material."
6. In biology, having structural components that are not clearly differentiated, as the nuclear material in certain bacteria: "Using a powerful microscope, Noah, the botanist, studied the amorphous nuclear material of the bacteria."

Without life or animation; dejected, as if dead; utterly cast down: "Mable could see that Bert had amort feelings of dejection as indicated by the slump of his shoulders."

1. Musical inability, whether for perception, production, or reproduction of vocal or instrumental sounds: "From an educational perspective, knowledge of every aspect of congenital amusia should enrich the current view of other forms of learning disabilities; such as, dysphasia and dyslexia."
2. Music deafness or the inability of a person to produce or to appreciate musical sounds: "The continued efforts in understanding the causes of congenital amusia should shed light on the question as to whether or not music processing corresponds to a genuine specialization of the brain."
3. An inability to recognize the significance of sounds, manifested as a loss of the ability to recognize or to produce music: "Amusias show a particular deficit in discriminating musical pitch variations and in recognizing familiar melodies."
4. A condition in which there is the loss of a musical ability: "It was tragic that the composer suffered amusia and was unable to continue to compose his own music or even to read the musical scores of other composers."
5. Etymology: from Greek amousia, then through New Latin, "being without the Muses"; especially, with singing.

Absence of muscle sensations: "Darin's amyoesthesia resulted in his not being able to sense motions, weights, or balances."

The lack, or loss, of muscular sense or perception: "Muriel's amyoesthesis made it impossible for her to be aware of movements or even of different positions."

Deficient formation of muscle tissue and a lack of muscle growth: "As a result of significant malnutrition, Irvin had a form of acquired amyoplasia in his muscle tissues."

Generalized absence of muscle tone; a floppiness of the muscles: "Amyotonias are usually associated with flabby muscles and an increased range of passive movements at the joints."

Lacking in muscle size and number of muscle fibers that takes place with aging, reduction in blood supply, or following physical inactivity, and malnutrition: "The amyotrophia that anyone has is often a progressive deficiency of muscle tissue; especially, because that person doesn't move around and use his or her muscles."

"There are numerous causes for the amyotrophias of muscles; including, chronic malnutrition, immobilizations, and denervation which is a loss of nerve supplies that may be caused by a disease; for example, in polio where the death of motor neurons causes the denervation of muscle fibers."

Lacking muscular tissue or without muscular strength: "The amyous physical condition of many elderly people in nursing homes is believed to be a result of too much sitting around and not nearly enough physical exercise."

The absence of the normal secretion or flow of mucus: "A person with amyxorrhea is missing the protective secretions of mucus membranes; such as, the mucus membrane secretions in the digestive tract where it is needed to lubricate the passages of food."

"Amyxorrhea in the nose and throat and lungs will make it much easier for bacteria to penetrate the body through the epithelium or the membranous tissue that covers those bodily parts plus the other internal organs and internal surfaces of the body."

Without normal acidity: "Anacid conditions usually refer to the absence of hydrochloric acid in the gastric juice or the liquid secretion of the stomach mucosa consisting of gastric acid."

Total deafness; without the ability to hear: "The various terms of anacousia, anacusia, etc. are terms for the total loss, or significant inability, to perceive sounds."