skeuomorphism
skeuomorphism noun: the incorporation of obsolete or skeuomorphic elements into a design, for familiarity or out of tradition, even though they no longer serve any functional purpose.
Noun
skeuomorphism (countable and uncountable, plural skeuomorphisms)
- The incorporation of obsolete or skeuomorphic elements into a design, for familiarity or out of tradition, even though they no longer serve any functional purpose.
- Skeuomorphism is not a thing of the past nor is it limited to traditional crafts. It is found today in countless articles being made from plastic for the first time.1989, George Basalla, The Evolution of Technology, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN
- A user interface style characterized by ornate use of photorealistic textures, shadows, and often glossy highlights, mimicking a three-dimensional render.
- Antonyms:
- flat design
Antonyms of skeuomorphism
Forms of skeuomorphism
| plural | skeuomorphisms |
|---|---|
| alternative form | skiamorphism |
Origin of skeuomorphism
From Ancient Greek σκεῦος (skeûos, “implement”) + -morphism, or skeuomorph + -ism.
Words formed from skeuomorphism
Questions about skeuomorphism
- What does skeuomorphism mean?
- Skeuomorphism means the incorporation of obsolete or skeuomorphic elements into a design, for familiarity or out of tradition, even though they no longer serve any functional purpose.
- What part of speech is skeuomorphism?
- Skeuomorphism is a noun.
- What is the plural of skeuomorphism?
- The plural of skeuomorphism is skeuomorphisms.
Words near skeuomorphism in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: skeuomorphism (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “skeuomorphism.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/skeuomorphism. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.