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formality - 3 dictionary results

for⋅mal⋅i⋅ty

  [fawr-mal-i-tee]
Use formality in a Sentence
–noun, plural -ties.
1. condition or quality of being formal; accordance with required or traditional rules, procedures, etc.; conventionality.
2. rigorously methodical character.
3. strict adherence to established rules and procedures; rigidity.
4. observance of form or ceremony.
5. marked or excessive ceremoniousness.
6. an established order or method of proceeding: the formalities of judicial process.
7. a formal act or observance.
8. something done merely or mainly for form's sake; a requirement of custom or etiquette: the formality of a thank-you note.
Origin:
1525–35; < L fōrmālitās. See formal 1 , -ity

Synonyms:
7. rite, ritual, ceremony.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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for·mal·i·ty   (fôr-māl'ĭ-tē)   
n.   pl. for·mal·i·ties
  1. The quality or condition of being formal.
  2. Rigorous or ceremonious adherence to established forms, rules, or customs.
  3. An established form, rule, or custom, especially one followed merely for the sake of procedure or decorum.
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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Formality

For*mal"i*ty\, n.; pl. Formalities. [Cf. F. formalit['e].]

1. The condition or quality of being formal, strictly ceremonious, precise, etc.

2. Form without substance.

Such [books] as are mere pieces of formality, so that if you look on them, you look though them. --Fuller.

3. Compliance with formal or conventional rules; ceremony; conventionality.

Nor was his attendance on divine offices a matter of formality and custom, but of conscience. --Atterbury.

4. An established order; conventional rule of procedure; usual method; habitual mode.

He was installed with all the usual formalities. --C. Middleton.

5. pl. The dress prescribed for any body of men, academical, municipal, or sacerdotal. [Obs.]

The doctors attending her in their formalities as far as Shotover. --Fuller.

6. That which is formal; the formal part.

It unties the inward knot of marriage, . . . while it aims to keep fast the outward formality. --Milton.

7. The quality which makes a thing what it is; essence.

The material part of the evil came from our father upon us, but the formality of it, the sting and the curse, is only by ourselves. --Jer. Taylor.

The formality of the vow lies in the promise made to God. --Bp. Stillingfleet.

8. (Scholastic. Philos.) The manner in which a thing is conceived or constituted by an act of human thinking; the result of such an act; as, animality and rationality are formalities.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : formality
Spanish: formalidad,
German: die Formalität,
Japanese: 形式的行為
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