polymorphism

n. the ability of something to have or take many different forms or shapes.

n. the general capacity of an entity or concept to assume different forms, appearances, or structures.

“The artist was fascinated by the polymorphism of the clouds as they shifted in the wind.”

“The inherent polymorphism of the myth allows it to be adapted across vastly different cultures without losing its core narrative power.”

Formal

n. a way of writing code where one command can work with different types of data.

n. a programming language feature that allows values of different data types to be handled through a uniform interface.

“Using polymorphism, the program can print both text and images using the same function.”

“By implementing polymorphism, the developers ensured that the 'draw' method could be applied to any shape object regardless of its specific class.”

Technical

n. when two or more clearly different body types or genes exist in the same species.

n. the occurrence of two or more clearly different phenotypes or genotypes within the same population of a species.

“The different wing patterns on the same type of butterfly are a great example of polymorphism.”

“Researchers studied the genetic polymorphism within the colony to understand how certain individuals survived the viral outbreak while others did not.”

Technical

n. the ability of a solid material to exist in more than one crystal structure.

n. the ability of a solid material to exist in more than one form or crystal structure while remaining the same chemical compound.

“Carbon shows polymorphism because it can exist as both soft graphite and hard diamond.”

“The pharmaceutical company had to carefully control the polymorphism of the drug, as different crystal forms could affect how fast the medicine dissolved.”

Technical