formal

1. Being in accord with established forms and conventions and requirements (as e.g. of formal dress) (synset 301045598)
   "pay one's formal respects"; "formal dress"; "a formal ball"; "the requirement was only formal and often ignored"; "a formal education"
   also:

   • conventional - following accepted customs and proprieties
   • formal - (of spoken and written language) adhering to traditional standards of correctness and without casual, contracted, and colloquial forms
   tells us about: formality, formalness - a manner that strictly observes all forms and ceremonies
   similar to:

   • ceremonial - marked by pomp or ceremony or formality
   • ceremonious, conventional - rigidly formal or bound by convention
   • dress, full-dress - (of an occasion) requiring formal clothes
   • form-only - being a matter of form only; lacking substance
   • dress, full-dress - suitable for formal occasions
   • nominal, titular - existing in name only
   • positive, prescribed - formally laid down or imposed
   • perfunctory, pro forma - done or produced as a formality only
   • black-tie, semi-formal, semiformal - moderately formal; requiring a dinner jacket
   • buckram, starchy, stiff - rigidly formal
   • white-tie - requiring white ties and tailcoats for men
2. Characteristic of or befitting a person in authority (synset 301637196)
   "formal duties"; "an official banquet"
   similar to: official - having official authority or sanction
3. (of spoken and written language) adhering to traditional standards of correctness and without casual, contracted, and colloquial forms (synset 301048915)
   "the paper was written in formal English"
   also:

   • formal - being in accord with established forms and conventions and requirements (as e.g. of formal dress)
   • rhetorical - given to rhetoric, emphasizing style at the expense of thought
   tells us about: formality, formalness - a manner that strictly observes all forms and ceremonies
   similar to: literary - appropriate to literature rather than everyday speech or writing
4. Represented in simplified or symbolic form (synset 301987861)
   referred to in: beaux arts, fine arts - the study and creation of visual works of art
   similar to: nonrepresentational - of or relating to a style of art in which objects do not resemble those known in physical nature
   same as: conventional, schematic
5. Logically deductive (synset 301433501)
   "formal proof"
   similar to: logical - capable of or reflecting the capability for correct and valid reasoning
6. Refined or imposing in manner or appearance;
   Befitting a royal court (synset 300755359)
   "a courtly gentleman"
   similar to: dignified - having or expressing dignity; especially formality or stateliness in bearing or appearance
   same as: courtly, stately

1. A lavish dance requiring formal attire (synset 107463485)
   is a type of: dance - a party for social dancing
   subtypes:

   • cotilion, cotillion - a ball at which young ladies are presented to society
   • fancy-dress ball, masked ball, masquerade ball - a ball at which guests wear costumes and masks
   • prom, promenade - a formal ball held for a school class toward the end of the academic year
   same as: ball
2. A gown for evening wear (synset 103206322)
   is a type of:

   • evening clothes, evening dress, eveningwear, formalwear - attire to wear on formal occasions in the evening
   • gown - a woman's dress, usually with a close-fitting bodice and a long flared skirt, often worn on formal occasions
   same as: dinner dress, dinner gown, evening gown

Other Searches

• Rhyme: Dillfrog, RhymeZone
• Definition: Wiktionary, Dictionary.com, Wikipedia, Merriam-Webster, WordNet, Power Thesaurus
• Imagery: Google, Flickr, Bing