formal
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Proper, according to strict etiquette.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
fawrmuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈfɔɹməl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
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.”
Proper, according to strict etiquette; not casual.
Being in accord with established forms and conventions and requirements (as e.g. of formal dress)
Ceremonial or traditional.
Relating to the form or structure of something.
Organized; well-structured and planned.
noun
An event with a formal dress code.
uncountable
Formalin.
An acetal formed from formaldehyde.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Being in accord with established forms and conventions and requirements (as e.g. of formal dress)
Used this way, formal is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use formal
- “The paper was written in formal English.”adjective
- “Pay one's formal respects.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
An arrangement of people or things acting as a unit.
Referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several).
With official authorization.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Any logical system that abstracts the form of statements away from their content in order to establish abstract criteria of consistency and validity.
A garden laid out on regular lines with plants arranged in symmetrical locations or in geometrical designs.
The branch of semantics that studies the logical aspects of meaning.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
adjective
Sense: adhering to traditional standards of correctness and without casual
Antonyms
Sense: adhering to traditional standards of correctness and without casual
Say it better
Looking for a more precise alternative? “formal” can mean several things.
Heads up, the meeting moved to Thursday.The meeting has moved to Thursday at 2pm.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.