formal cause
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of formal cause
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The force says this is because the formal cause of death was unclear.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
In this case of a sculpture, the sculptor’s vision or idea was referred to as the formal cause.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022
Officer Brian D. Sicknick died after fighting with rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, though no formal cause of death has yet been released.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 5, 2021
While a formal cause of death has not been confirmed, Schepers said in an email that hospital records “indicate that COVID-19 is the presumed, but as of yet unconfirmed, cause of death.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 9, 2021
As far as Aristotle was concerned, as we saw in Chapter 3, causal explanations had four components: the formal cause, the final cause, the material cause and the efficient cause.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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