formal B1 Topic:Law & Government US /ˈfɔɹməl/ UK /ˈfɔːməl/ See IPA manual Freq #5013 Meanings 1 adj Following accepted rules of polite or official behaviour, dress, or language. The wedding was a very formal occasion. 2 adj Official and done in a serious, public way. I'd like to make a formal complaint. 3 adj Of language, careful and correct, not casual or conversational. The report was written in formal English. Thesaurus ↔ Opposites informal Word family Derived forms essive-formalformaleseformalesqueformalishformalismformalistformalityformalizationformalizeformallyformalnessformalwear Related forms formhemiformal Common collocations formal letter Adjective + noun formal dinner Adjective + noun formal wear Adjective + noun formal attire Adjective + noun Etymology AI details From Middle English formel, borrowed from Old French formel, from Latin fōrmālis, from fōrma (“form”); equivalent to form + -al. formel Middle English fōrmālis Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Law & Government Register & Style External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # formal **Type:** Word **Level:** B1 **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈfɔɹməl/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈfɔːməl/ **Frequency rank:** 5013 ## Meanings 1. Following accepted rules of polite or official behaviour, dress, or language. 2. Official and done in a serious, public way. 3. Of language, careful and correct, not casual or conversational. ## Examples - The wedding was a very formal occasion. - I'd like to make a formal complaint. - The report was written in formal English. ## Antonyms - informal ## Derived Forms - essive-formal - formalese - formalesque - formalish - formalism - formalist - formality - formalization - formalize - formally - formalness - formalwear ## Related Forms - form - hemiformal ## Roots and Affixes - Root: formel - Root: fōrmālis ## Etymology From Middle English formel, borrowed from Old French formel, from Latin fōrmālis, from fōrma (“form”); equivalent to form + -al. ## AI Etymology Formal comes from Middle English formel, borrowed from Old French formel, from Latin fōrmālis, from fōrma (“form”); equivalent to form + -al. In current use, the main senses are “Following accepted rules of polite or official behaviour, dress, or language” and “Official and done in a serious, public way”. ## Topics - Law & Government - Register & Style markdown