Dictionary definition · formal
noun
- a lavish dance requiring formal attire
- a gown for evening wear
adjective
- being in accord with established forms and conventions and requirements (as e.g. of formal dress)"pay one's formal respects"
- characteristic of or befitting a person in authority"formal duties"
- (of spoken and written language) adhering to traditional standards of correctness and without casual, contracted, and colloquial forms"the paper was written in formal English"
- represented in simplified or symbolic form
- logically deductive"formal proof"
- refined or imposing in manner or appearance; befitting a royal court"a courtly gentleman"
Source: Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).