formality
noun
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Definition of formality
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Synonyms for formality
Synonyms
amenity, attention, civility, courtesy, gesture, pleasantry, politeness
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Examples of formality in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The government will be formally sworn in on Thursday morning, and must face a confidence vote, expected later this week, which is seen as a formality because the three parties control a majority of Parliament. — New York Times, "With New Cabinet, Italy’s Head-Spinning Political Turmoil Ends, for Now," 4 Sep. 2019 Most of the heavy lifting in terms of who will be on the roster is complete, with the final three practices and Thursday night’s exhibition finale in Seattle mere formalities. — Jerry Mcdonald, The Mercury News, "Raiders mailbag: Can Derek Carr and Antonio Brown make up for lost time?," 24 Aug. 2019 The grill cook bobs and weaves like a prizefighter around the open flames, and a young staff makes up for its lack of formality with a wealth of congeniality. — Mike Sutter, ExpressNews.com, "Review: Kindling Texas Kitchen in Cibolo breaks the rules for Texas food," 1 Aug. 2019 As such, agreeing to a transfer fee with Ajax was seen as a formality. — SI.com, "Report: De Ligt's Transfer to Juventus Stalls Over Fee; Hope for Barcelona?," 5 July 2019 Learning Japanese presents challenges that are absent from learning other languages, with many of those linked to the importance of formality. — Isabella Steger, Quartz, "A less polite version of Japanese is helping foreigners stay safe during disasters," 27 June 2019 Hours after last year’s summit, in Quebec, Trump abruptly withdrew from the final joint communique — previously a largely symbolic formality — in a fit of pique because he was offended by Trudeau’s post-summit news conference. — Eli Stokols, Los Angeles Times, "Discord dominates as Trump and other leaders head to G-7 summit," 22 Aug. 2019 Germany made the wording of an apology a subject of the negotiations, and claims reparations are a no-go on account of legal formalities. — Quartz Africa, "Even after acknowledging the Namibia genocide of WWI, Germany still hasn’t learned the key lesson," 10 Aug. 2019 The bill becomes a law once it is signed by the president, considered a formality. — Sugam Pokharel, CNN, "Indian parliament criminalizes Muslim practice of instant divorce," 31 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'formality.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for formality
formality
noun
English Language Learners Definition of formality
See the full definition for formality in the English Language Learners Dictionary
formality
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Kids Definition of formality
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