Definitions for formal
ˈfɔr məlfor·mal

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:2.3 / 10 votes

1. ball, formalnoun

   a lavish dance requiring formal attire

2. dinner dress, dinner gown, formal, evening gownadjective

   a gown for evening wear

3. formaladjective

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

   "pay one's formal respects"; "formal dress"; "a formal ball"; "the requirement was only formal and often ignored"; "a formal education"

4. formaladjective

   characteristic of or befitting a person in authority

   "formal duties"; "an official banquet"

5. formaladjective

   (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"

6. conventional, formal, schematicadjective

   represented in simplified or symbolic form

7. formaladjective

   logically deductive

   "formal proof"

8. courtly, formal, statelyadjective

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

   "a courtly gentleman"

WiktionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 2 votes

1. formalnoun

   formalin

2. formalnoun

   an evening gown

3. formalnoun

   an event with a formal dress code

   Jenny took Sam to her Year 12 formal.

4. formaladjective

   being in accord with established forms

5. formaladjective

   official

6. formaladjective

   relating to the form or structure of something

7. formaladjective

   ceremonial

8. formaladjective

   Organized; well-structured and planned.

9. Etymology: From formel, from formel, from formalis, from forma; see form.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. FORMALadjective

   Etymology: formel, French; formalis, Latin.

   1. Ceremonious; solemn; precise; exact to affectation.

   The justice,
   In fair round belly, with good capon lin’d,
   With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,
   Full of wise saws and modern instances,
   And so he plays his part. William Shakespeare, As you like it.

   Formal in apparel,
   In gait and countenance surely like a father. William Shakespeare.

   Ceremonies especially be not to be omitted to strangers and formal natures; but the exalting them above the mean is not only tedious, but doth diminish the credit of him that speaks. Francis Bacon, Essay 53.

   2. Done according to established rules and methods; not irregular; not sudden; not extemporaneous.

   There is not any positive law of men, whether it be general or particular, received by formal express consent, as in councils; or by secret approbation, as in customs it cometh to pass, but the same may be taken away, if occasion serve. Richard Hooker, b. iv. s. 14.

   As there are formal and written leagues, respective to certain enemies; so there is a natural and tacit confederation amongst all men against the common enemy of human society, so as there needs no intimation or denunciation of the war; but all these formalities the law of nature supplies, as in the case of pyrates. Francis Bacon, Holy War.

   3. Regular; methodical.

   The formal stars do travel so,
   As we their names and courses know;
   And he that on their changes looks,
   Would think them govern’d by our books. Edmund Waller.

   4. External; having the appearance but not the essence.

   Of formal duty, make no more thy boast;
   Thou disobey’st where it concerns me most. John Dryden, Aureng.

   5. Depending upon establishment or custom.

   Still in constraint your suffering sex remains,
   Or bound in formal or in real chains. Alexander Pope.

   6. Having the power of making any thing what it is; constituent; essential.

   Of letters the material part is breath and voice: the formal is constituted by the motions and figure of the organs of speech affecting breath with a peculiar sound, by which each letter is discriminated. William Holder, Elements of Speech.

   Bellarmine agrees in making the formal act of adoration to be subjection to a superior; but withal he makes the mere apprehension of excellency to include the formal reason of it: whereas mere excellency, without superiority, doth not require any subjection, but only estimation. Edward Stillingfleet.

   The very life and vital motion, and the formal essence and nature of man, is wholly owing to the power of God. Richard Bentley.

   7. Retaining its proper and essential characteristick.

   Thou shou’dst come like a fury cover’d with snakes,
   Not like a formal man. William Shakespeare, Ant. and Cleopatra.

   I will not let him stir,
   ’Till I have us’d th’ approved means I have;
   With wholsome syrups, drugs, and holy prayers,
   To make of him a formal man again. William Shakespeare, Com. of Err.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. formal

   Formal refers to something that adheres to traditional, standard or established conventions, rules, or procedures. It can be related to events, dress code, writing, speech, agreements, or education that are done in a highly organized and official manner giving importance to propriety and seriousness. It often involves a proper, sophisticated and polite mode of behaviour or appearance.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Formalnoun

   see Methylal

2. Formaladjective

   belonging to the form, shape, frame, external appearance, or organization of a thing

3. Formaladjective

   belonging to the constitution of a thing, as distinguished from the matter composing it; having the power of making a thing what it is; constituent; essential; pertaining to or depending on the forms, so called, of the human intellect

4. Formaladjective

   done in due form, or with solemnity; according to regular method; not incidental, sudden or irregular; express; as, he gave his formal consent

5. Formaladjective

   devoted to, or done in accordance with, forms or rules; punctilious; regular; orderly; methodical; of a prescribed form; exact; prim; stiff; ceremonious; as, a man formal in his dress, his gait, his conversation

6. Formaladjective

   having the form or appearance without the substance or essence; external; as, formal duty; formal worship; formal courtesy, etc

7. Formaladjective

   dependent in form; conventional

8. Formaladjective

   sound; normal

9. Etymology: [L. formic + alcohol.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Formal

   Formal Hall or Formal Meal is the meal held at some of the oldest, universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland at which students dress in formal attire and often gowns to dine. These are held commonly in the colleges of, for examples, Oxford, Cambridge, Dublin, Durham and St Andrews, as well as the University of London, the University of Melbourne, the University of Sydney, and Trinity College, Toronto. In a number of red brick universities, some halls such as those in at Manchester, Bristol and Exeter also practise similar traditions in order to increase interaction between academics and students, and to enrich the students' overall learning experience. The nature of Formals varies widely between the colleges and halls that hold them. In some colleges, Formals may be held every night, and are simply a second sitting of hall at which gowns are worn and grace is read. In other colleges, Formals may be special events to which guests from outside the college are frequently invited, often with themes and associated ents or "bops". In between these two extremes fall the great majority of colleges.

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. formal

   A form of official authority.

   Formal authority is required for certain things in life like building a new build house.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on January 5, 2015  

Matched Categories

1. • Dance
   • Fine Arts

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'formal' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1597

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'formal' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2780

3. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'formal' in Adjectives Frequency: #199

How to pronounce formal?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say formal in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of formal in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of formal in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of formal in a Sentence

1. Jeff DeYoung:

   Since then, my office has been contacted by countless veterans who have described the mismanagement of the program. Our veterans selflessly put themselves in harm’s way with their military working dogs, yet too many of them are now separated because of hollow promises from our government. They deserve answers, and it’s for this reason that I am requesting the House Armed Services Committee to launch a formal inquiry into the adoptions of these combat dogs. for four years I continuously tried to email this company asking about where he was.

2. Anirudh Rastogi:

   Pushing the exchange business out from the formal economy to the informal cash economy to operate under the radar will worsen the problem, not solve it.

3. Daniel Swain:

   This is an unusually high number of storms this winter in California, no matter how you slice it, no matter how you make these formal definitions, this is unusually many.

4. Andrew Small:

   The combination of the kind of language used by the G7 and( China's formal inclusion) in NATO strategic documents is indeed a blow for( China), and something that they would have hoped and wished to be able to prevent, it's an exceptionally strong period in terms of transatlantic cooperation and that translates for China in ways that they're very concerned about.

5. Andrew McGinty:

   SAFE canceled the formal approval process for outbound transactions some time ago, but they are monitoring flows going out quite carefully, given the recent surge in money leaving the country.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=formal
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Formal
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=formal
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/formal
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=formal