formal
noun
- grammatical honorific form
adjective
- official, adhering to legal or other standards
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈfɔɹməl/ / /ˈfɔːməl/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English formel, borrowed from Old French formel, from Latin fōrmālis, from fōrma (“form”); equivalent to form + -al.
- In accordance with established forms.
“She spoke formal English, without any dialect.”
- Official.
“I'd like to make a formal complaint.”
- Relating to the form or structure of something.
“Formal linguistics ignores the vocabulary of languages and focuses solely on their grammar.”
“THE THREE DOMINANT FORMS IN METALSMITHING […] At present, there are but three basic volumetric forms dominating the work of metalsmiths, the spherical (usually in its most practical form, the domical), the cylindrical, and the cubical. […] The possibilities for further variations on them are all but exhausted, there being little chance to express new and unusual ideas within the framework of such limited choices. As a result, much of twentieth-century metalsmithing has relied on surface enrichment rather than formal development for its originality.”
- Relating to formation.
“The formal stage is a critical part of any child's development.”
- Ceremonial or traditional.
“Formal wear must be worn at my wedding!”
- Proper, according to strict etiquette; not casual.
“He's always very formal, and I wish he'd relax a bit.”
- Organized; well-structured and planned.
“When they became a formal club the rowers built a small boathouse.”
- In accordance with a methodological framework with well-defined rules or laws; rigorous.
“Despite efforts by limnologists and freshwater biologists to create a formal definition of “pond”, there is still no universal distinction between a “pond” and a “lake”.”
“Only formal proofs, which derive theorems logically from their given axioms, are considered satisfactory in modern mathematics.”
- Relating to mere manipulation and construction of strings of symbols, without regard to their meaning.
“Formal series are defined without any reference to convergence.”
noun
Etymology: See formo-.
- Formalin.
- An acetal formed from formaldehyde.