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formal - 9 dictionary results
for⋅mal
1
[fawr-muh
l] 
–adjective
| 1. | being in accordance with the usual requirements, customs, etc.; conventional: to pay one's formal respects. |
| 2. | marked by form or ceremony: a formal occasion. |
| 3. | designed for wear or use at occasions or events marked by elaborate ceremony or prescribed social observance: The formal attire included tuxedos and full-length gowns. |
| 4. | requiring a type of dress suitable for such occasions: a formal dance. |
| 5. | observant of conventional requirements of behavior, procedure, etc., as persons; ceremonious. |
| 6. | excessively ceremonious: a manner that was formal and austere. |
| 7. | being a matter of form only; perfunctory: We expected more than just formal courtesy. |
| 8. | made or done in accordance with procedures that ensure validity: a formal authorization. |
| 9. | of, pertaining to, or emphasizing the organization or composition of the constituent elements in a work of art perceived separately from its subject matter: a formal approach to painting; the formal structure of a poem. |
| 10. | being in accordance with prescribed or customary forms: a formal siege. |
| 11. | Theater. (of a stage setting) generalized and simplified in design, esp. of architectural elements, and serving as a permanent set for a play irrespective of changes in location. |
| 12. | acquired in school; academic: He had little formal training in economics. |
| 13. | symmetrical or highly organized: a formal garden. |
| 14. | of, reflecting, or noting a usage of language in which syntax, pronunciation, etc., adhere to traditional standards of correctness and usage is characterized by the absence of casual, contracted, and colloquial forms: The paper was written in formal English. |
| 15. | Philosophy.
|
| 16. | Logic. formal logic. |
| 17. | pertaining to the form, shape, or mode of a thing, esp. as distinguished from the substance: formal writing, bereft of all personality. |
| 18. | being such merely in appearance or name; nominal: a formal head of the government having no actual powers. |
| 19. | Mathematics.
|
–noun
| 20. | a dance, ball, or other social occasion that requires formalwear. |
| 21. | an evening gown. |
–adverb
| 22. | in formal attire: We're supposed to go formal. |
Related forms:
for⋅mal⋅ness, noun
Synonyms:
2. Formal, academic, conventional may have either favorable or unfavorable implications. Formal may mean in proper form, or may imply excessive emphasis on empty form. In the favorable sense, academic applies to scholars or higher institutions of learning; it may, however, imply slavish conformance to mere rules, or to belief in impractical theories. Conventional, in a favorable sense, applies to desirable conformity with accepted conventions or customs; but it more often is applied to arbitrary, forced, or meaningless conformity. 5. conforming, conformist. 6. punctilious. 8. official.
2. Formal, academic, conventional may have either favorable or unfavorable implications. Formal may mean in proper form, or may imply excessive emphasis on empty form. In the favorable sense, academic applies to scholars or higher institutions of learning; it may, however, imply slavish conformance to mere rules, or to belief in impractical theories. Conventional, in a favorable sense, applies to desirable conformity with accepted conventions or customs; but it more often is applied to arbitrary, forced, or meaningless conformity. 5. conforming, conformist. 6. punctilious. 8. official.
meth⋅yl⋅al
[meth-uh-lal, meth-uh-lal] –noun Chemistry.
| a colorless, flammable, volatile liquid, C3H8O2, having a chloroformlike odor, used chiefly as a solvent, in perfumery, and in organic synthesis. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To formal
| for·mal (fôr'məl) adj.
[Middle English, from Latin fōrmālis, from fōrma, shape.] for'mal·ly adv., for'mal·ness n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Formal
For"mal\ (f[^o]r"mal), n. [L. formic + alcohol.] (Chem.) See Methylal.Formal
Form"al\ (f[^o]rm"al), a. [L. formalis: cf. F. formel.]1. Belonging to the form, shape, frame, external appearance, or organization of a thing. 2. Belonging to the constitution of a thing, as distinguished from the matter composing it; having the power of making a thing what it is; constituent; essential; pertaining to or depending on the forms, so called, of the human intellect. Of [the sounds represented by] letters, the material part is breath and voice; the formal is constituted by the motion and figure of the organs of speech. --Holder. 3. Done in due form, or with solemnity; according to regular method; not incidental, sudden or irregular; express; as, he gave his formal consent. His obscure funeral . . . No noble rite nor formal ostentation. --Shak. 4. Devoted to, or done in accordance with, forms or rules; punctilious; regular; orderly; methodical; of a prescribed form; exact; prim; stiff; ceremonious; as, a man formal in his dress, his gait, his conversation. A cold-looking, formal garden, cut into angles and rhomboids. --W. Irwing. She took off the formal cap that confined her hair. --Hawthorne. 5. Having the form or appearance without the substance or essence; external; as, formal duty; formal worship; formal courtesy, etc. 6. Dependent in form; conventional. Still in constraint your suffering sex remains, Or bound in formal or in real chains. --Pope. 7. Sound; normal. [Obs.] To make of him a formal man again. --Shak. Formal cause. See under Cause. Syn: Precise; punctilious; stiff; starched; affected; ritual; ceremonial; external; outward. Usage: Formal, Ceremonious. When applied to things, these words usually denote a mere accordance with the rules of form or ceremony; as, to make a formal call; to take a ceremonious leave. When applied to a person or his manners, they are used in a bad sense; a person being called formal who shapes himself too much by some pattern or set form, and ceremonious when he lays too much stress on the conventional laws of social intercourse. Formal manners render a man stiff or ridiculous; a ceremonious carriage puts a stop to the ease and freedom of social intercourse.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : formal
Spanish:
formal, oficial,
German:
förmlich,
Japanese:
型どおりの
formal
c.1386, from L. formalis, from forma (see form). Short for formal dance, first recorded 1946. Formality in the depreciative sense is from 1647. Formalism is from 1840 as "strict adherence to prescribed forms;" 1943 in ref. to Rus. literary movement (1916-30).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: for·mal
Function: adjective
1 : relating to or involving outward form, structure, or arrangement rather than content formal defect in the pleadings>
2 : requiring special or established solemnities or formalities esp. in order to be effective or valid under the law
3 : being such only as a matter of form : NOMINAL formal party to a lawsuit>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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FORMAL
1. FORmula MAnipulation Language.
An early Fortran extension for symbolic mathematics.
["FORMAL, A Formula Manipulation Language", C.K. Mesztenyi, Computer Note CN-1, CS Dept, U Maryland (Jan 1971)].
2. A data manipulation language for nonprogrammers from IBM LASC.
["FORMAL: A Forms-Oriented and Visual-Directed Application System", N.C. Shu, IEEE Computer 18(8):38-49 (1985)].
(1994-12-06)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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