formal.
In accordance with established forms.
Meaning & usage
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.
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.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English formel, borrowed from Old French formel, from Latin fōrmālis, from fōrma (“form”); equivalent to form + -al.
An evening gown.
An event with a formal dress code.
Jenny took Sam to her Year 12 formal.
A formal parameter.
Ellipsis of formal hall.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English formel, borrowed from Old French formel, from Latin fōrmālis, from fōrma (“form”); equivalent to form + -al.
Formalin.
An acetal formed from formaldehyde.
Where this word comes from
See formo-.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.