Thesaurus
formal
adjective
Synonyms and Antonyms of FORMAL
1
following or agreeing with established form, custom, or rules <a formal meeting of the board of directors> <a formal contract that was legally binding>
Related Words authorized, certified, official, sanctioned; accepted, correct, decorous, genteel, nice, polite, proper, respectable, seemly; formalistic, ritual, ritualistic; methodical (also methodic), orderly, systematic
Near Antonyms unauthorized, unofficial; graceless, improper, inappropriate, incorrect, indecorous, inept, infelicitous, unapt, unbecoming, unfit, unhappy, unseemly, unsuitable
2
3
marked by or showing careful attention to set forms and details <gave her a formal invitation to dinner>
Synonyms correct, decorous, formal, nice, proper, punctilious, starchy, stiff, stiff-necked, stilted
4
relating to or suitable for wearing to an event requiring elegant dress and manners <the dress code is formal for tonight's event> <a shop that rents out formal wear>
Related Words costume, costumey; chic, dapper, fashionable, in, modish, natty, sharp, smart, snappy, stylish; custom-made, fitted, tailored; black-tie, evening, white-tie; semiformal
5
very dignified in form, tone, or style <the formal language of the coronation ceremony>
Related Words affected, bombastic, declamatory, florid, flowery, grandiloquent, grandiose, highfalutin (also hifalutin), oratorical, pompous, pretentious, rhetorical (also rhetoric), stilted; Attic, cultured, refined; classy, courtly, fine, graceful, tasteful; aristocratic, genteel, patrician; correct, educated, grammatical, proper; academic (also academical), bookish, learned, literary
Near Antonyms casual, colloquial, conversational, informal, nonformal, slangy, unbookish, unliterary, vernacular; coarse, common, crass, crude, gross, ill-bred, indecent, lowbred, lowbrow, rough, rough-hewn, rude, tasteless, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, unpolished, unrefined, vulgar; incorrect, substandard, uneducated, ungrammatical, unlearned
Seen & Heard
What made you want to look up formal[adjective]? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).