adj · formal
formal
UK/ˈfɔːməl/US/ˈfɔːrməl/FOR·mal
Band 6-7task2speaking
official, following accepted rules or conventions
Examples
“Use a formal tone when writing an academic essay.”
“They held a formal ceremony to mark the opening.”
“Formal attire is required for the conference dinner.”
Band 8 sentence
“In my opinion, academic essays demand a formal register to convey authority and precision.”
Collocations
- formal language
- formal education
- formal attire
Word family
formal adjformally advformality ninformal adj
Common mistakes
use 'formal' and 'official' interchangeably in essays→choose 'formal' for style/register and 'official' for authority/status
He wrote a very formal about the issue.→He wrote very formally about the issue.
Say it for a higher band
5polite→6official→7+formal
Synonyms
official
Easily confused
official
“The official statement was released by the ministry.”
Related words
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In -al
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