formal

/ˈfɔrməl/

/ˈfɔməl/

Other forms: formals

Being formal is all about being taken seriously. If you're invited to the White House, you'll want to make a good impression, so it's a good idea to adopt a generally formal demeanor. No jeans or trash talking allowed.

In our casual world, there are still many times we need to be formal, like at weddings or funerals. Adopting a formal manner — i.e., dressing up and not eating with your hands — will help you make a good impression on job interviewers or future in-laws. Being formal doesn't have to mean being stiff or unnatural; it's basically just using good manners and following the rules.

Definitions of formal

1. adjective

   being in accord with established forms and conventions and requirements (as e.g. of formal dress)
   “pay one's formal respects”

   “formal dress”

   “a formal ball”

   “the requirement was only formal and often ignored”

   “a formal education”

   synonyms:

   conventional

   following accepted customs and proprieties

   ceremonial

   marked by pomp or ceremony or formality

   ceremonious, conventional

   rigidly formal or bound by convention

   dress, full-dress

   (of an occasion) requiring formal clothes

   form-only

   being a matter of form only; lacking substance

   dress, full-dress

   suitable for formal occasions

   nominal, titular

   existing in name only

   positive, prescribed

   formally laid down or imposed

   perfunctory, pro forma

   as a formality only

   black-tie, semi-formal, semiformal

   moderately formal; requiring a dinner jacket

   buckram, starchy, stiff

   rigidly formal

   white-tie

   requiring white ties and tailcoats for men

   antonyms:

   informal

   not formal

   casual, daily, everyday

   appropriate for ordinary or routine occasions

   casual, free-and-easy

   natural and unstudied

   folksy

   very informal and familiar

   unceremonial, unceremonious

   without ceremony or formality

   informal

   used of spoken and written language
2. adjective

   (of spoken and written language) adhering to traditional standards of correctness and without casual, contracted, and colloquial forms
   “the paper was written in formal English”

   synonyms:

   literary

   appropriate to literature rather than everyday speech or writing

   rhetorical

   given to rhetoric, emphasizing style at the expense of thought

   antonyms:

   informal

   used of spoken and written language

   informal

   not formal

   colloquial, conversational

   characteristic of informal spoken language or conversation

   common, vernacular, vulgar

   being or characteristic of or appropriate to everyday language

   epistolary, epistolatory

   written in the form of or carried on by letters or correspondence

   slangy

   constituting or expressed in slang or given to the use of slang

   subliterary

   not written as or intended to be literature

   nonliterary, unliterary

   marked by lack of affectation or pedantry

   unrhetorical

   not rhetorical
3. noun

   a lavish dance requiring formal attire
   synonyms: ball

   types:

   cotilion, cotillion

   a ball at which young ladies are presented to society

   fancy-dress ball, masked ball, masquerade ball

   a ball at which guests wear costumes and masks

   prom, promenade

   a formal ball held for a school class toward the end of the academic year

   type of:

   dance

   a party for social dancing
4. noun

   a gown for evening wear
   synonyms: dinner dress, dinner gown, evening gown

   type of:

   evening clothes, evening dress, eveningwear, formalwear

   attire to wear on formal occasions in the evening

   gown

   a woman's dress, usually with a close-fitting bodice and a long flared skirt, often worn on formal occasions
5. adjective

   characteristic of or befitting a person in authority
   “formal duties”

   synonyms:

   official

   having official authority or sanction
6. adjective

   refined or imposing in manner or appearance; befitting a royal court
   synonyms: courtly, stately

   dignified

   having or expressing dignity; especially formality or stateliness in bearing or appearance
7. adjective

   logically deductive
   “formal proof”

   synonyms:

   logical

   capable of or reflecting the capability for correct and valid reasoning
8. adjective

   represented in simplified or symbolic form
   synonyms: conventional, schematic

   nonrepresentational

   of or relating to a style of art in which objects do not resemble those known in physical nature