Formality

How to spell formality

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce formality

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does formality mean?

1. nounStrict observance of established conventions, etiquette, or ceremony.
2. nounA procedure or requirement carried out only because convention or the rules demand it.

Formality in a sentence

• The dinner was conducted with a degree of formality that made everyone sit up straight.

• Signing the final contract was a mere formality after both sides had already agreed.

• There is far less formality in the modern office than there was a generation ago.

• The interview felt like a formality, since the job had clearly been promised to her.

Where does formality come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin forma, meaning a 'shape', 'outward appearance', or 'pattern', which gave rise to the adjective formalis, 'relating to form' or 'done according to the proper pattern'. From that adjective came the late Latin noun formalitas, describing the quality of conforming to an established shape or rule. English took the word in the late 1500s, largely through Old French formalité, where it already carried the sense of an established convention or ceremony. Over time it split into two flavours of meaning we still use: strict adherence to social etiquette, and a step that must be completed simply because the rules require it. The same forma root underlies a whole family of relatives such as 'form', 'formal', 'reform', and 'uniform', and remembering that shared 'form-' core is the easiest way to anchor the spelling before the regular -ality ending.

How the word is built

• form (shape, established way)
• -al (relating to)
• -ity (noun of state or quality)