formal

Fetched 2026-10-29 (live).

Synonyms: normal, format, mormal, formay, fotmal, formyl, formol, forman, forma, wormal, forml

Antonyms: normal, format, mormal, formay, fotmal, formyl, formol, forman, forma, wormal, forml

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Adjective

1. In accordance with established forms.
   • She spoke formal English, without any dialect.
2. Official.
   • I'd like to make a formal complaint.
3. Relating to the form or structure of something.
   • Formal linguistics ignores the vocabulary of languages and focuses solely on their grammar.
4. Relating to formation.
   • The formal stage is a critical part of any child's development.
5. Ceremonial or traditional.
   • Formal wear must be worn at my wedding!
6. Proper, according to strict etiquette; not casual.
   • He's always very formal, and I wish he'd relax a bit.
7. Organized; well-structured and planned.
   • When they became a formal club the rowers built a small boathouse.
8. 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.
   • A set of words can be formal cognates only if they can be derived from a common ancestor by regular sound laws.
9. 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

1. An evening gown.
2. An event with a formal dress code.
   • Jenny took Sam to her Year 12 formal.
3. A formal parameter.
4. Ellipsis of formal hall.

Noun

1. Formalin.
2. An acetal formed from formaldehyde.

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wiktionary) · cached copy, not a rewrite.