formulary
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
A list of drugs, created by health insurers, hospitals, or prescription drug plans.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
fawrmyuhluhreeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈfɔɹmjəlɛɹi
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.
noun
healthcare
A list of drugs, created by health insurers, hospitals, or prescription drug plans, that defines how costs for any drug are shared between patient and health care provider, typically broken down by tiers such as preferred generics with lowest copay, or preferred brand with higher copay, or non-preferred brand and not covered tiers with the highest cost to the patient.
A pharmacopoeia or list of available drugs, particularly prescription drugs
A list of formulas; a collection of set forms to be followed, especially in religious belief.
pharmacology
A book containing a compilation of pharmaceutical products with their formulas and methods of preparation
An ancient or medieval collection of models for official writings.
adjective
Stated; prescribed; ritual.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (healthcare) A list of drugs, created by health insurers, hospitals, or prescription drug plans, that defines how costs for any drug are shared between patient and health care provider, typically broken down by tiers such as preferred generics with lowest copay, or preferred brand with higher copay, or non-preferred brand and not covered tiers with the highest cost to the patient.
Used this way, formulary is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a clinical use: it belongs to medical description, where it is factual rather than emotive.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Medicine/healthcare
- Science
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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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.
A substance prepared according to a formula.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- pharmacynoun
- medicationnoun
- relapseverb
- medicarenoun
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