View synonyms for formalism

formalism

[ fawr-muh-liz-uhm ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

strict adherence to, or observance of, prescribed or traditional forms, as in music, poetry, and art.
Religion. strong attachment to external forms and observances.
Ethics. a doctrine that acts are in themselves right or wrong regardless of consequences.
Logic, Mathematics. a doctrine, which evolved from a proposal of David Hilbert, that mathematics, including the logic used in proofs, can be based on the formal manipulation of symbols without regard to their meaning.

formalism

/ ˈfɔːməˌlɪzəm /

scrupulous or excessive adherence to outward form at the expense of inner reality or content
1. the mathematical or logical structure of a scientific argument as distinguished from its subject matter
2. the notation, and its structure, in which information is expressed
theatre a stylized mode of production
(in Marxist criticism) excessive concern with artistic technique at the expense of social values, etc
the philosophical theory that a mathematical statement has no meaning but that its symbols, regarded as physical objects, exhibit a structure that has useful applications Compare logicism intuitionism

First recorded in 1830–40; formal ¹ + -ism

He was accused of “formalism,” a catch-all accusation that, like “Trotskyite,” had the ring of execution about it.

The concept is that the formalism of past summits has made meaningful conversation difficult.

Originally trained as a painter, Mthethwa brings a determined visual formalism to the portraits of his subjects in their homes.

The very origin of Khassidism was due to a protest against that cold formalism which excluded everything imaginative.

If there is any bias on the bench that is popularly and justly disliked it is a bias towards formalism and technicalities.

There was a formalism to it, there was pomp and circumstance.

In Islam devotion is a strong point, formalism is its weakness.

Any explanation would be futile of this branch of a forgotten formalism.

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