formalism
strict adherence to, or observance of, prescribed or traditional forms, as in music, poetry, and art.
Religion. strong attachment to external forms and observances.
Ethics. a doctrine that acts are in themselves right or wrong regardless of consequences.
Logic, Mathematics. a doctrine, which evolved from a proposal of David Hilbert, that mathematics, including the logic used in proofs, can be based on the formal manipulation of symbols without regard to their meaning.
Origin of formalism
1Other words from formalism
- for·mal·ist, noun, adjective
- for·mal·is·tic, adjective
- for·mal·is·ti·cal·ly, adverb
- an·ti·for·mal·ist, noun, adjective
- non·for·mal·ism, noun
- non·for·mal·is·tic, adjective
- un·for·mal·is·tic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use formalism in a sentence
Their formalism, which they published in Theory in Biosciences in March, is based on three axioms.
What Is an Individual? Biology Seeks Clues in Information Theory. | Jordana Cepelewicz | July 16, 2020 | Quanta MagazineBroadly speaking, these divide themselves into two main branches, the Formalistic and the Naturalesque.
The Book of Tea | Kakuzo OkakuraThe Formalistic schools, led by the Ikenobos, aimed at a classic idealism corresponding to that of the Kano-academicians.
The Book of Tea | Kakuzo OkakuraWe should like to call this school the Natural in contradistinction to the Naturalesque and Formalistic schools.
The Book of Tea | Kakuzo OkakuraHe fancied that he could preserve the element which he has called "art-formalistic" and yet reach dramatic verity.
Richard Wagner His Life and His Dramas | W. J. Henderson
In a dry, formalistic way, Primrose asked: "My dear brother, are you prepared for the great change!"
Letters of Peregrine Pickle | George P. Upton
British Dictionary definitions for formalism
/ (ˈfɔːməˌlɪzəm) /
scrupulous or excessive adherence to outward form at the expense of inner reality or content
the mathematical or logical structure of a scientific argument as distinguished from its subject matter
the notation, and its structure, in which information is expressed
theatre a stylized mode of production
(in Marxist criticism) excessive concern with artistic technique at the expense of social values, etc
the philosophical theory that a mathematical statement has no meaning but that its symbols, regarded as physical objects, exhibit a structure that has useful applications: Compare logicism, intuitionism
Derived forms of formalism
- formalist, noun
- formalistic, adjective
- formalistically, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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