Formal

How to spell formal

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce formal

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does formal mean?

1. adjectiveFollowing established conventions of correctness, ceremony, or official procedure rather than being casual or relaxed.
2. nounA social occasion or dance at which formal dress is expected.

Formal in a sentence

• adjective

  The invitation specified formal attire, so he wore a dark suit.

• noun

  The seniors rented a limousine for their end-of-year formal.

• adjective

  She sent a formal complaint to the human resources department.

• noun

  She bought a long gown especially for the college formal.

Where does formal come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word descends from the Latin formalis, meaning 'relating to form or shape', which was built on forma, the everyday Latin noun for a shape, mould, or pattern. Romans used forma for everything from a physical outline to an abstract model or standard, and that sense of conforming to an accepted pattern is exactly what survives in the modern meaning. English took the word in during the late 1300s, borrowing it through Old French formel, with the original spelling staying remarkably close to its Latin source. The same forma root gives us a large family of relatives, including 'form', 'reform', 'uniform', and 'format'. Because the word keeps the simple stem 'form' plus the predictable ending '-al', it is spelled phonetically and rarely trips writers up, though the unstressed second vowel is technically a schwa rather than a clear 'a'.

How the word is built

• form (from Latin forma: shape, pattern)
• -al (adjective suffix)