{
    "term": "formal",
    "partOfSpeech": "adjective",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "a2",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "very correct and suitable for official or important occasions",
            "cefr": "a2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "ladies in formal evening wear"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The dinner was a formal affair."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He kept the tone of the letter formal and businesslike."
                },
                {
                    "text": "His manner was stiffly formal."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Her words sounded oddly formal."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The greeting was polite, almost formal."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He insisted on formal dress for dinner."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Howard has a rather formal way of speaking."
                },
                {
                    "text": "In those days, tutors were formal and distant."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She has a very formal manner, which can seem unfriendly."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Clothes and Fashion"],
            "collocations": {
                "verbs": ["be", "seem", "sound"],
                "adverb": ["extremely", "fairly", "very"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "official; following an agreed or official way of doing things",
            "cefr": "a2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "formal legal processes"
                },
                {
                    "text": "to make a **formal complaint**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "There has been no formal announcement of her resignation yet."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There followed a formal request for military aid."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Formal diplomatic relations between the two countries were re-established in December."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It is time to put these arrangements on a slightly more formal basis."
                },
                {
                    "text": "On receipt of a formal complaint the inspectorate is required to investigate."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Once the loan has been approved we'll send a formal agreement for you to sign."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The government has lodged a formal diplomatic protest about the decision."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The organization is not a formal political party."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The two governments announced their formal acceptance of the scheme."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "verbs": ["be", "seem", "sound"],
                "adverb": ["extremely", "fairly", "very"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "received in a school, college or university, with lessons, exams, etc., rather than gained just through practical experience",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He has no formal teaching qualifications."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Young children are beginning their **formal education** as early as four years old."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Inness received little **formal **artistic **training**."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "connected with the way something is done rather than what is done",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Getting approval for the plan is a purely formal matter; nobody will seriously oppose it."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The monarch retains largely formal duties."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Critics have concentrated too much on the formal elements of her poetry, without really looking at what it is saying."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "verbs": ["be"],
                "adverb": ["merely", "purely", "largely"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "arranged in a regular manner, according to a clear, exact plan",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "delightful formal gardens, with terraced lawns and an avenue of trees"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Large French doors on the first floor open out onto a formal garden."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Buildings"]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈfɔːml/",
                "audio": "fo/formal/formal__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈfɔːrml/",
                "audio": "fo/formal/formal__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "late Middle English: from Latin formalis, from forma ‘shape, mould’."
}