conform

conform — verb

1. to act, dress, or think the way most members of your community do, matching thei

1.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

to act, dress, or think the way most members of your community do, matching their standards rather than choosing a completely individual path.

Example

Many teenagers feel pressure to conform to the fashion choices of their friends.

conform to + noun phrase (social norms)

Kemi refused to conform and wore her own style of clothing to school every day.

Common collocations
  • conform to social norms
  • conform to expectations
  • pressure to conform
  • refuse to conform
Synonyms
  • fit in

    informal; emphasises being accepted by a group rather than following rules

  • follow the crowd

    idiomatic; suggests doing what everyone else does without thinking

  • comply

    more formal and related to rules or instructions rather than social norms

Antonyms
  • rebel

    to actively go against the expectations of a group or society

  • deviate

    to take a different path or approach from what is considered normal

Grammar Patterns

conform + to + noun phrase (social group, norms, expectations)

Usage Note

Commonly describes social behaviour and peer pressure. The person or group being followed is introduced by 'to'. This sense is typically about unwritten social expectations rather than formal rules or laws.

Common Mistakes

She refused to conform the group.
She refused to conform to the group.
'conform' is intransitive; when specifying what someone follows, use 'to'.

2. to follow a law, rule, or official standard that controls how things must be don

2.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

to follow a law, rule, or official standard that controls how things must be done, made, or organised.

Example

All electrical products must conform to international safety standards before they can be sold.

modal + conform to + safety standards

The architect realised that the design did not conform to the local fire codes.

negative: did not conform to + regulations

Common collocations
  • conform to regulations
  • conform to standards
  • conform to requirements
  • conform to the law
Synonyms
  • comply with

    equally formal; commonly used in legal and regulatory writing

  • adhere to

    suggests a stronger commitment to following principles strictly

  • abide by

    common for rules, laws, and agreements; slightly less formal

Antonyms
  • violate

    to break a law, rule, or agreement

  • breach

    formal; to break a contract, law, or code of conduct

Grammar Patterns

conform + to + noun phrase (law, rule, regulation, standard)

Usage Note

Frequent in legal, regulatory, and business writing. The subject is often an organisation, product, process, or policy rather than an individual person distinguishing this sense from sense 1.

Common Mistakes

The factory conforms with all safety regulations.
The factory conforms to all safety regulations.
In the rule-following sense, 'conform to' is the standard construction; 'conform with' is more common for sense 3 (matching/corresponding).

3. to be like something else or to match it closely in shape, quality, or character

3.verbintransitiveC1
Definition

to be like something else or to match it closely in shape, quality, or character.

Example

His description of the accident did not conform with the official police report.

conform with + noun phrase (correspondence)

The actual measurements of the room conformed closely to the architect's original drawings.

adverb: conformed closely to

Common collocations
  • conform to/with the description
  • conform closely to
  • conform exactly to
  • conform with expectations
Synonyms
  • correspond

    neutral and common in academic contexts; often used with 'to'

  • match

    more informal and direct; widely used in everyday language

  • align with

    suggests being in agreement or harmony with something

Antonyms
  • differ

    to be unlike or distinct from something

  • contradict

    to be in direct opposition to something, especially in facts or statements

Grammar Patterns

conform + to/with + noun phrase

Usage Note

Distinguish from senses 1 and 2: this sense describes correspondence or similarity in form and character rather than following social expectations or obeying rules. 'Conform with' is especially common in academic and technical writing for this meaning.

Common Mistakes

The results conform to our hypothesis' (when the intended meaning is pure correspondence).
The results conform with our hypothesis.
This sense allows both 'to' and 'with', but 'conform with' more clearly signals matching/correspondence rather than rule-following.

Word family

  • conformity
    nounB2
  • conformist
    nounC1
  • conformist
    adjectiveC1
  • nonconformist
    nounC1
  • nonconformist
    adjectiveC1
  • nonconformity
    nounC1
  • conformable
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

'Comply' is more passive and rule-focused: you comply with a specific request or regulation, not with a general social atmosphere. 'Fit in' is the informal, everyday word for social conformity — it implies being accepted by others rather than following rules. 'Adhere' carries a sense of strict commitment, often to principles or guidelines, and is more formal than 'conform'. 'Obey' implies a power relationship — someone with authority gives an order, and you carry it out. For example, a teenager might conform to peer pressure by dressing like friends (social norm), but obey their parents by coming home on time (authority). Choosing between these words depends on whether the focus is on social acceptance ('fit in', 'conform'), rule-following ('comply', 'adhere'), or submission to authority ('obey').

comply ↗fit in ↗adhere ↗obey ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • standards
  • rules
  • expectations
  • requirements
  • norms

Adverbs

Phrases

  • in conformity with
  • conform to the norm
  • pressure to conform

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From Latin 'conformare' — the prefix 'con-' means 'together' and 'formare' means 'to shape'. So the original idea was 'to shape together', to make one thing take the same form as another. The word entered English through Old French 'conformer' in the 1300s. The modern uses — following social norms, obeying rules, and matching in character — all grow from this core image of things being brought into the same shape.