Link Centre Dictionary

formal

for·mal

UK/ˈfɔːməl/ US/ˈfɔɹməl/ fairly common

adjective

1.

being in accord with established forms and conventions and requirements (as e.g. of formal dress)

  • “pay one”
  • “;”
  • “;”
  • “;”
  • “;”
2.

characteristic of or befitting a person in authority

  • “formal duties”
  • “an official banquet”
Similar
3.

(of spoken and written language) adhering to traditional standards of correctness and without casual, contracted, and colloquial forms

  • “the paper was written in formal English”
Antonyms
Similar
5.

logically deductive

  • “formal proof”
Similar
6.

refined or imposing in manner or appearance; befitting a royal court

  • “a courtly gentleman”

Origin

From Middle English formel, borrowed from Old French formel, from Latin fōrmālis, from fōrma (“form”); equivalent to form + -al.

Phrases

  • business formal
  • formal cause
  • formal charge
  • formal education
  • formal equivalence
  • formal fallacy
  • formal grammar
  • formal heresy
  • formal swap

Related words

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.