formal
Synonyms:
academic, conforming, conformist, conventional, official, punctilious.
Related Words:
approved, ceremonial, ceremonious, confirmed, decorous, explicit, express, legal, polite, precise, proper, nominal, regular, ritual, set, solemn, strict.
Synonym Study 1 (Dictionary.com):
Formal, academic, and conventional may have either favorable or unfavorable implications.
Formal may mean in proper form, or may imply excessive emphasis on empty form.
In the favorable sense, academic applies to scholars or higher institutions of learning;
it may, however, imply slavish conformance to mere rules, or to belief in impractical theories.
Conventional, in a favorable sense, applies to desirable conformity with accepted conventions or customs;
but it more often is applied to arbitrary, forced, or meaningless conformity.
Synonym Study 2 (Merriam-Webster):
Ceremonial, ceremonious, formal, conventional mean marked by attention to or adhering strictly to prescribed forms.
Ceremonial and ceremonious both imply strict attention to what is prescribed by custom or by ritual, but ceremonial applies to things that are associated with ceremonies:
a ceremonial offering.
Ceremonious to persons given to ceremony or to acts attended by ceremony:
made his ceremonious entrance.
Formal applies both to things prescribed by and to persons obedient to custom and may suggest stiff, restrained, or old-fashioned behavior:
a formal report; the headmaster's formal manner.
Conventional implies accord with general custom and usage conventional courtesy and may suggest a stodgy lack of originality or independence:
conventional fiction.
Origin:
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English formal, formel, from Latin fōrmālis. See form, -al1. Noun 2: First recorded in 1895–1900; from formaldehyde. Dictionary 2: C14: from Latin formālis. Noun 2: C19: from form (ic) + -al ³. —Dictionary.com. //
First Known Use of formal: Adjective (1): 14th century. Noun: 1605. Adjective (2): circa 1934. History and Etymology for formal: Adjective (1) and Noun: Middle English, from Latin formalis, from forma. Adjective (2): formula + -al entry 1. —Merriam-Webster.
Sources: 1, 2.
academic, conforming, conformist, conventional, official, punctilious.
Related Words:
approved, ceremonial, ceremonious, confirmed, decorous, explicit, express, legal, polite, precise, proper, nominal, regular, ritual, set, solemn, strict.
Synonym Study 1 (Dictionary.com):
Formal, academic, and conventional may have either favorable or unfavorable implications.
Formal may mean in proper form, or may imply excessive emphasis on empty form.
In the favorable sense, academic applies to scholars or higher institutions of learning;
it may, however, imply slavish conformance to mere rules, or to belief in impractical theories.
Conventional, in a favorable sense, applies to desirable conformity with accepted conventions or customs;
but it more often is applied to arbitrary, forced, or meaningless conformity.
Synonym Study 2 (Merriam-Webster):
Ceremonial, ceremonious, formal, conventional mean marked by attention to or adhering strictly to prescribed forms.
Ceremonial and ceremonious both imply strict attention to what is prescribed by custom or by ritual, but ceremonial applies to things that are associated with ceremonies:
a ceremonial offering.
Ceremonious to persons given to ceremony or to acts attended by ceremony:
made his ceremonious entrance.
Formal applies both to things prescribed by and to persons obedient to custom and may suggest stiff, restrained, or old-fashioned behavior:
a formal report; the headmaster's formal manner.
Conventional implies accord with general custom and usage conventional courtesy and may suggest a stodgy lack of originality or independence:
conventional fiction.
Origin:
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English formal, formel, from Latin fōrmālis. See form, -al1. Noun 2: First recorded in 1895–1900; from formaldehyde. Dictionary 2: C14: from Latin formālis. Noun 2: C19: from form (ic) + -al ³. —Dictionary.com. //
First Known Use of formal: Adjective (1): 14th century. Noun: 1605. Adjective (2): circa 1934. History and Etymology for formal: Adjective (1) and Noun: Middle English, from Latin formalis, from forma. Adjective (2): formula + -al entry 1. —Merriam-Webster.
Sources: 1, 2.