What does formal mean?
Definitions for formal
ˈfɔr məlfor·mal
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word formal.
Princeton's WordNet
ball, formalnoun
a lavish dance requiring formal attire
dinner dress, dinner gown, formal, evening gownadjective
a gown for evening wear
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"
formaladjective
characteristic of or befitting a person in authority
"formal duties"; "an official banquet"
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"
conventional, formal, schematicadjective
represented in simplified or symbolic form
formaladjective
logically deductive
"formal proof"
courtly, formal, statelyadjective
refined or imposing in manner or appearance; befitting a royal court
"a courtly gentleman"
Wiktionary
formalnoun
formalin
formalnoun
an evening gown
formalnoun
an event with a formal dress code
Jenny took Sam to her Year 12 formal.
formaladjective
being in accord with established forms
formaladjective
official
formaladjective
relating to the form or structure of something
formaladjective
ceremonial
formaladjective
Organized; well-structured and planned.
Etymology: From formel, from formel, from formalis, from forma; see form.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
FORMALadjective
Etymology: formel, French; formalis, Latin.
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.
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.
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.Of formal duty, make no more thy boast;
Thou disobey’st where it concerns me most. John Dryden, Aureng.Still in constraint your suffering sex remains,
Or bound in formal or in real chains. Alexander Pope.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.
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.
ChatGPT
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 Dictionary
Formalnoun
see Methylal
Formaladjective
belonging to the form, shape, frame, external appearance, or organization of a thing
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
Formaladjective
done in due form, or with solemnity; according to regular method; not incidental, sudden or irregular; express; as, he gave his formal consent
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
Formaladjective
having the form or appearance without the substance or essence; external; as, formal duty; formal worship; formal courtesy, etc
Formaladjective
dependent in form; conventional
Formaladjective
sound; normal
Etymology: [L. formic + alcohol.]
Wikidata
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 Contribution
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
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'formal' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1597
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'formal' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2780
Adjectives Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'formal' in Adjectives Frequency: #199
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of formal in Chaldean Numerology is: 7
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of formal in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2
Examples of formal in a Sentence
Mnuchin said. Israel gets ready to open the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. ( AP) The treasury secretary’s comments come amid celebration and mass protests in Israel and Gaza leading up to Monday’s festivities. Israel prepared enthusiastically Sunday for the formal embassy opening with a gala party at its Foreign Ministry that included President Trump’s daughter Ivanka, President Trump daughter Ivanka husband Jared Kushner, and other U.S. officials. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told revelers that Trump's December declaration recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital was the right thing to do. Thank you, President President Trump, for your bold decision. Thank you for making the alliance between Israel and the United States stronger than ever.
While we are glad that Encore Global has acknowledged its error in denying my client's employment due to his hairstyle, we have yet to receive a formal apology, or a commitment to changing the grooming policy that has had a disparate impact on African-Americans, i intend to engage with Encore further to determine if they will fulfill all the requests we have made in our lawsuit.
The most important outcome of education is to help students become independent of formal education.
This is an instrument of a new kind, so it's not straightforward to operationalize it, but all the formal requirements are in place now, and so I'm assuming we'll be ready to use it in the foreseeable future.
Yale University and Yale Law School have strong free speech protections, and no student is investigated or sanctioned for protected speech. When the Law School receives complaints about offensive communications, the Dean of Students routinely tries to help students talk to one another and resolve their disagreements within the community, at no time was any disciplinary investigation launched or disciplinary action taken in this matter. While any person may report concerns about a lawyers’ character and fitness to the Bar, the Law School has a longstanding policy of reporting only formal disciplinary action to the Bar Association. Any media reporting to the contrary is false.
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Translations for formal
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- رسميArabic
- рәсмиBashkir
- формен, церемониален, официален, формаленBulgarian
- convencional, formal, solemneCatalan, Valencian
- formálníCzech
- formelDanish
- Form-, formell, formal, offiziell, förmlichGerman
- επίσημοςGreek
- formalSpanish
- صوریPersian
- juhlallinen, formaali, kaavamainen, muodollinen, virallinenFinnish
- formelFrench
- formai, formális, hivatalosHungarian
- formaleItalian
- רשמיHebrew
- 正式, 公式Japanese
- پهتیKurdish
- ōkawaMāori
- formalPortuguese
- oficial, formalRomanian
- формальный, официальныйRussian
- fòrmālan, slȕžben, cȅremonijālanSerbo-Croatian
- formellSwedish
- முறையானTamil
- เป็นทางการThai
- chính thứcVietnamese
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