definition of
formal

[1] #1 formal a. being in accord with established forms and conventions and requirements (as e.g. of formal dress); "pay one's formal respects"; "formal dress"; "a formal ball"; "the requirement was only formal and often ignored"; "a formal education". wn

[2] #2 formal a. (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". wn

[3] #3 formal n. [ball] a lavish dance requiring formal attire. wn

[4] #4 formal n. [dinner dress, dinner gown, evening gown] a gown for evening wear. wn

[5] #5 formal s. [conventional, schematic] represented in simplified or symbolic form. wn