Definition: 1. Very correct and suitable for official or important occasions. 2. Characteristic of or befitting a person in authority. 3. Refined or imposing in manner or appearance; befitting a royal court.
Use 'formal' in a sentence:
1. He left school with no formal qualifications.
2. His formal schooling continued erratically until he reached the age of eleven.
3. Business relationships are necessarily a bit more formal.
4. The talks are meant to clear the way for formal negotiations on a new constitution.
5. He has no formal teaching qualifications.
6. There is no formal linkage between the two agreements.
7. There has been no formal announcement by either government.
8. Formal talks are still said to be a possibility, not a probability.
9. They decided to put their relationship on a more formal footing.
10. She has a very formal manner, which can seem unfriendly.
11. One evening the film company arranged a formal dinner after the play.
12. People have been reluctant to make formal complaints to the police.
13. One evening the company arranged a formal dinner after the play.
14. Heavy silverplate adds an opulent touch to a formal dinner party.
15. He wrote a very formal letter of apology to Douglas.
16. Bad teaching is not penalized in a formal way.
17. The two sides met to put their signatures to a formal agreement.
18. Steve didn't have the benefit of a formal college education.
19. Formal diplomatic relations between the two countries were re-established in December.
20. His wife made no secret of her hatred for the formal occasions.
21. They have left us with no other choice than to take formal action.
22. There was no formal training; they learned on the job.
23. A formal contract is signed which is renewable annually.
24. A number of them have filed formal complaints against the police.
25. She completed her formal education in 1995.
26. He's made a formal identification of the body.
27. They agreed to establish a working party to draw up a formal agreement.
28. Critics have concentrated too much on the formal elements of her poetry, without really looking at what it is saying.
29. He kept the tone of the letter formal and businesslike.
30. Getting approval for the plan is a purely formal matter; nobody will seriously oppose it.
31. The essay suddenly switches from a formal to an informal register.
32. The dinner was a formal affair.
33. Does the company have a formal grievance procedure?
34. I felt ill at ease in such formal clothes.
35. Kennedy had no formal training as a decorator.
36. He wore formal evening dress.
37. Wendy didn't have any formal dance training.
38. Exceptionally, students may be accepted without formal qualifications.
39. UN officials said a formal request was passed to American authorities.
40. It is time to put these arrangements on a slightly more formal basis.
41. Jeans are not appropriate for a formal party.
42. The two countries are to try to agree a timetable for formal talks.
43. Young children are beginning their formal education sometimes as early as four years old.
44. This does not encourage the child to analyse the environment in a formal way.
45. They wore ordinary ties instead of the more formal high collar and cravat.
46. The speech he made to welcome them was stiff and formal.
