formal language
Britishnoun
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a language designed for use in situations in which natural language is unsuitable, as for example in mathematics, logic, or computer programming. The symbols and formulas of such languages stand in precisely specified syntactic and semantic relations to one another
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logic a logistic system for which an interpretation is provided: distinguished from formal calculus in that the semantics enable it to be regarded as about some subject matter
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.
That is all the more reason that your correspondents may be impressed with the dignity of using formal language.
From Washington Post • Jun. 7, 2022
Draft a script for your review podcast that reflects your personality and use of language, rather than formal language.
From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021
“I was thinking very much about finding a formal language about what it means to be trans and nonbinary,” they said in an interview at the gallery.
From New York Times • Oct. 21, 2021
In fact, it’s just the kind of formal language one might pick up from a mental health professional.
From Slate • Nov. 20, 2019
In sixth grade, Miss Perry had insisted we all learn to compose proper letters in formal language.
From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
