Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use formal in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, noun

Formal means in accordance with established forms. Example: “She spoke formal English, without any dialect.”

Examples of formal by meaning

adjectiveIn accordance with established forms.

  • She spoke formal English, without any dialect.

adjectiveOfficial.

  • I'd like to make a formal complaint.

adjectiveRelating to the form or structure of something.

  • Formal linguistics ignores the vocabulary of languages and focuses solely on their grammar.
  • As a result, much of twentieth-century metalsmithing has relied on surface enrichment rather than formal development for its originality.1978, Heikki Seppä, Form Emphasis for Metalsmiths, [Kent, Oh.]: Kent State University Press, →ISBN, page 1

adjectiveRelating to formation.

  • The formal stage is a critical part of any child's development.

adjectiveCeremonial or traditional.

  • Formal wear must be worn at my wedding!

adjectiveProper, according to strict etiquette; not casual.

  • He's always very formal, and I wish he'd relax a bit.

adjectiveOrganized; well-structured and planned.

  • When they became a formal club the rowers built a small boathouse.

adjectiveIn accordance with a methodological framework with well-defined rules or laws; rigorous.

  • Despite efforts by limnologists and freshwater biologists to create a formal definition of “pond”, there is still no universal distinction between a “pond” and a “lake”.
  • Only formal proofs, which derive theorems logically from their given axioms, are considered satisfactory in modern mathematics.
  • A set of words can be formal cognates only if they can be derived from a common ancestor by regular sound laws.

More sentences with formal

  • I was without formal education but was well read and articulate.From the entry without
  • The Loglan formal grammar is made up of 91 CFG-type rules.From the entry Loglan
  • We ate a formal dinner at high table after the service. It all felt very Oxbridge.From the entry Oxbridge
  • We rewrote certain communications templates to use a more formal register.From the entry register
  • Table seatings are generally determined by tacit convention, not binding formal protocol.From the entry convention
  • It is a commonly known fact that formal marks of perfective aspect in Slavic are prefixes.From the entry Slavic
  • His portraits looked stiff and formal but his candids showed life being lived.From the entry candid
  • I only wear high heels on formal occasions; otherwise, I prefer sensible shoes.From the entry sensible
  • He's a minimalist: when it comes to formal processes, the fewer the better.From the entry minimalist
  • In formal contexts, we can use 'that' and 'those' as substitutes meaning ‘the one(s)’.From the entry the one
  • School uniforms for boys may include a school tie, jacket, cap and a pair of formal trousers.From the entry school uniform
  • Pseudovarieties are of particular importance in the study of finite semigroups and hence in formal language theory.From the entry pseudovariety
  • Velmanette began a research assistantship with a renowned classicist in order to build more formal research experience.From the entry research assistantship
  • Note: The word abdicate was held to mean, in the case of James II, to abandon without a formal surrender.From the entry abdicate
  • Military letters should be formal in tone, but not stilted.From the entry in
  • Germany's formal name is the Federal Republic of Germany.From the entry of
  • He came to the party in formal dress.From the entry dress
  • It is inappropriate to burp at a formal dinner.From the entry inappropriate
  • Gilles Deleuze criticizes the Chomsky hierarchy of formal languages, which he considers a perfect example of arborescent dualistic theory.From the entry arborescent
  • In this broadsheet newspaper, the reporter uses a complicated and formal lexis which I find hard to understand.From the entry lexis
  • The diplomat's formal leave-taking took up most of the day.From the entry leave-taking
  • We met the new captain while we were taking enemy fire and were unable to observe the niceties of formal introductions.From the entry nicety
  • "The monadic existential quantifier ∃, as in ∃x, may express existence of x in formal logic or mathematics".From the entry monadic
  • The Beghards lived in semimonastic communities, without taking formal vows.From the entry semimonastic
  • He was wearing his formal attire.From the entry attire
  • In many countries, matronymic surnames can be adopted after the death of the father, although the process is very formal and lengthy.From the entry matronymic
  • George Washington's generalship was marked by both amazing victories and stunning blunders, neither of which would have happened to someone with more formal officer training.From the entry generalship
  • That guy wants to appear as a serious and formal businessman and not talk about his side gig where he deals drugs on the street.From the entry side gig
  • After talking with and observing his new patient for a few minutes, the doctor began to inspect his charge by means of a formal physical examination.From the entry inspect

Meaning of formal

  1. adjective In accordance with established forms.
  2. adjective Official.
  3. adjective Relating to the form or structure of something.

Full definition of formal

Questions about formal in a sentence

How do you use formal in a sentence?
Formal is used as an adjective and noun. For example: “She spoke formal English, without any dialect.”
What is a short sentence with formal?
“He was wearing his formal attire.”
What does formal mean?
Formal means in accordance with established forms.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: formal (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use formal in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/formal. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.