Definition of Formal

formalis

the active or subjective aspect of something--that is, the aspect which is based on the rational activity of the subject. (Cf. material.)

(n.)
See Methylal.
  

(a.)
Sound; normal.
  

(a.)
Having the form or appearance without the substance or essence; external; as, formal duty; formal worship; formal courtesy, etc.
  

(a.)
Done in due form, or with solemnity; according to regular method; not incidental, sudden or irregular; express; as, he gave his formal consent.
  

(a.)
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.)
Dependent in form; conventional.
  

(a.)
Belonging to the form, shape, frame, external appearance, or organization of a thing.
  

(a.)
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.
  

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formal
\for"mal\ (fôr"mal), n. [l. formic + alcohol.] (chem.) see methylal.
formal
\form"al\ (fôrm"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.
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.
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. irwing. she took off the formal cap that confined her hair.
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.
7. sound; normal. [obs.] to make of him a formal man again.
formal
cause. see under cause.

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  similar words(4) 

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 formal methods 
 formal object role modeling language 
 formal logic 
 formal cause 

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regular, retaining its proper and essential characteristic

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Adjective
1. 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"
(antonym) informal
(similar) ceremonial
(see-also) conventional
(attribute) formality, formalness
2. characteristic of or befitting a person in authority; "formal duties"; "an official banquet"
(similar) official
3. (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"
(antonym) informal
(similar) literary
(attribute) formality, formalness
4. represented in simplified or symbolic form
(synonym) conventional, schematic
(similar) nonrepresentational
(classification) fine arts, beaux arts
5. logically deductive; "formal proof"
(similar) logical
6. refined or imposing in manner or appearance; befitting a royal court; "a courtly gentleman"
(synonym) courtly, elegant, stately
(similar) dignified

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hotor-, hotorik

v. SeQ