informality

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌɪnfɔrˈmæləti/ UK /ˌɪnfɔːˈmæləti/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the quality of being relaxed, casual, or unofficial

The easy informality of the gathering put newcomers at ease.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the quality of being... casualnesseaserelaxednessunceremoniousnessfamiliarity

Opposites

formality ceremony stiffness

Word family

Related forms informal informally formal form

Etymology

From informal + -ity, from in- ('not') + formal, from Latin formalis ('pertaining to form'), from forma ('form, shape').

formalis Latin forma Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# informality

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˌɪnfɔrˈmæləti
**IPA (UK):** ˌɪnfɔːˈmæləti

## Meanings
1. the quality of being relaxed, casual, or unofficial

## Examples
- The easy informality of the gathering put newcomers at ease.

## Synonyms
- casualness
- ease
- relaxedness
- unceremoniousness
- familiarity

## Antonyms
- formality
- ceremony
- stiffness

## Related Forms
- informal
- informally
- formal
- form

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: formalis
- Root: forma

## Etymology
From informal + -ity, from in- ('not') + formal, from Latin formalis ('pertaining to form'), from forma ('form, shape').

## AI Etymology
informality comes from informal + -ity, from in- ('not') + formal, from Latin formalis ('pertaining to form'), from forma ('form, shape'). Morphologically, the ending is part of the etymology: the suffix is attached to the older base named in the history, producing a later English derivative. In present English, the noun sense is "the quality of being relaxed, casual, or unofficial", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as informal, informally, formal, and form. Its semantic neighborhood includes casualness, ease, relaxedness, and unceremoniousness, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin formalis and Latin forma.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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