| English Dictionary |
FORMAL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does formal mean?
• FORMAL (noun)
The noun FORMAL has 2 senses:
1. a lavish dance requiring formal attire
2. a gown for evening wear
Familiarity information: FORMAL used as a noun is rare.
• FORMAL (adjective)
The adjective FORMAL has 6 senses:
1. being in accord with established forms and conventions and requirements (as e.g. of formal dress)
2. characteristic of or befitting a person in authority
3. (of spoken and written language) adhering to traditional standards of correctness and without casual, contracted, and colloquial forms
4. represented in simplified or symbolic form
5. logically deductive
6. refined or imposing in manner or appearance; befitting a royal court
Familiarity information: FORMAL used as an adjective is common.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
A lavish dance requiring formal attire
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural events
Synonyms:
ball; formal
Hypernyms ("formal" is a kind of...):
dance (a party for social dancing)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "formal"):
cotilion; cotillion (a ball at which young ladies are presented to society)
fancy-dress ball; masked ball; masquerade ball (a ball at which guests wear costumes and masks)
prom; promenade (a formal ball held for a school class toward the end of the academic year)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A gown for evening wear
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Synonyms:
dinner dress; dinner gown; evening gown; formal
Hypernyms ("formal" is a kind of...):
gown (a woman's dress, usually with a close-fitting bodice and a long flared skirt, often worn on formal occasions)
evening clothes; evening dress; eveningwear; formalwear (attire to wear on formal occasions in the evening)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Being in accord with established forms and conventions and requirements (as e.g. of formal dress)
Context example:
a formal education
Similar:
nominal; titular (existing in name only)
white-tie (requiring white ties and tailcoats for men)
buckram; starchy; stiff (rigidly formal)
black-tie; semi-formal; semiformal (moderately formal; requiring a dinner jacket)
perfunctory; pro forma (done or produced as a formality only)
positive; prescribed (formally laid down or imposed)
dress; full-dress (suitable for formal occasions)
form-only (being a matter of form only; lacking substance)
dress; full-dress ((of an occasion) requiring formal clothes)
ceremonious; conventional (rigidly formal or bound by convention)
ceremonial (marked by pomp or ceremony or formality)
Also:
conventional (following accepted customs and proprieties)
formal ((of spoken and written language) adhering to traditional standards of correctness and without casual, contracted, and colloquial forms)
Attribute:
formality; formalness (a manner that strictly observes all forms and ceremonies)
Antonym:
informal (not formal)
Derivation:
formality (compliance with formal rules)
formalness (a manner that strictly observes all forms and ceremonies)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Characteristic of or befitting a person in authority
Context example:
an official banquet
Similar:
official (having official authority or sanction)
Derivation:
formality (a requirement of etiquette or custom)
Sense 3
Meaning:
(of spoken and written language) adhering to traditional standards of correctness and without casual, contracted, and colloquial forms
Context example:
the paper was written in formal English
Similar:
literary (appropriate to literature rather than everyday speech or writing)
Also:
formal (being in accord with established forms and conventions and requirements (as e.g. of formal dress))
rhetorical (given to rhetoric, emphasizing style at the expense of thought)
Attribute:
formality; formalness (a manner that strictly observes all forms and ceremonies)
Antonym:
informal (used of spoken and written language)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Represented in simplified or symbolic form
Synonyms:
conventional; formal; schematic
Similar:
nonrepresentational (of or relating to a style of art in which objects do not resemble those known in physical nature)
Domain category:
beaux arts; fine arts (the study and creation of visual works of art)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Logically deductive
Context example:
formal proof
Similar:
logical (capable of or reflecting the capability for correct and valid reasoning)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Refined or imposing in manner or appearance; befitting a royal court
Synonyms:
Context example:
a courtly gentleman
Similar:
dignified (having or expressing dignity; especially formality or stateliness in bearing or appearance)
Derivation:
formalness (a manner that strictly observes all forms and ceremonies)
Context examples
This new study shows that the findings hold true even for those with a higher genetic likelihood of autism rather than a formal diagnosis.
(Genetic variants for autism linked to higher rates of self-harm and childhood maltreatment, University of Cambridge)
By training attention we can improve the intelligence of children and prepare them for formal learning in school.
(Study reveals attention training improves intelligence and brain function of children, University of Granada)
Formal consent to enter the trial comes from the parent or guardian.
(Assent process, NCI Dictionary)
A formal submission to FDA from any legal person or entity to obtain permission for manufacturing and marketing a biological product subject to licensure under section 351 of the Public Health Service Act.
(Biologics License Application, NCI Thesaurus)
His air was grave and stately, and his manners were very formal.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
In case the coroner should demand it, there would be a formal inquest, necessarily to the same result.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Aunt March likes to have us pay her the compliment of coming in style, and making a formal call.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
I examined the will with the deepest attention, pronounced it perfectly formal in all respects, made a pencil-mark or so in the margin, and thought it rather extraordinary that I knew so much.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
A character string containing a formal language expression that specifies how the observation result's attributes are, should be, or have been derived from input parameters associated with activity.
(Defined Observation Result Derivation Expression, NCI Thesaurus)
A character string containing a formal language expression that specifies how attributes are, should be, or have been derived from input parameters associated with activity.
(Derivation Expression, NCI Thesaurus)
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