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formal

Pronunciation: /ˈfɔɹməl/

The English word “formal” has 14 meanings listed here.

adjective

  1. In accordance with established forms.
  2. Official.
  3. Relating to the form or structure of something.
  4. Relating to formation.
  5. Ceremonial or traditional.
  6. Proper, according to strict etiquette; not casual.
  7. Organized; well-structured and planned.
  8. In accordance with a methodological framework with well-defined rules or laws; rigorous.
  9. Relating to mere manipulation and construction of strings of symbols, without regard to their meaning.

noun

  1. An evening gown.
  2. An event with a formal dress code.
  3. A formal parameter.
  4. Formalin.
  5. An acetal formed from formaldehyde.

Etymology

From Middle English formel, borrowed from Old French formel, from Latin fōrmālis, from fōrma (“form”); equivalent to form + -al.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.