Formulation

How to spell formulation

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce formulation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does formulation mean?

1. nounThe act of putting something into a precise, systematic, or carefully worded form.
2. nounA substance prepared according to a specific recipe of ingredients, as in chemistry, medicine, or cosmetics.

Formulation in a sentence

• The careful formulation of the new policy took the committee several weeks.

• The company changed the formulation of its sunscreen to reduce skin irritation.

• Clear formulation of the research question made the whole study easier to plan.

• This gentle formulation contains no added fragrance.

Where does formulation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin formula, a diminutive of forma meaning 'shape' or 'form', so a formula literally meant 'a little form', a small pattern or fixed wording. By the medieval period formula came to mean a set form of words, especially a legal or ritual one, and from there a precise recipe or rule. English took the verb 'formulate' in the early 1800s to mean 'to express in exact, systematic terms', and the noun 'formulation' followed as the name for either that act or its result. The same forma root underlies a large family of English words such as 'form', 'format', 'formal' and 'reform'. The spelling trap sits in the middle: the unstressed 'u' is easy to drop or swap for an 'a', yet it survives straight from the Latin diminutive.

How the word is built

• form (shape)
• -ul- (Latin diminutive: little form)
• -ate (verb-forming)
• -ion (noun of action or result)