formalize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make formal, especially for the sake of official or authorized acceptance.
to formalize an understanding by drawing up a legal contract.
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to give a definite form or shape to.
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to state or restate (the rules or implied rules of a grammar or the like) in symbolic form.
verb
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to be or make formal
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(tr) to make official or valid
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(tr) to give a definite shape or form to
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logic to extract the logical form of (an expression), to express in the symbols of some formal system
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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formalizesimple
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formalizessimple
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have formalizedperfect
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has formalizedperfect
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am formalizingprogressive
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are formalizingprogressive
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is formalizingprogressive
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have been formalizingperfect progressive
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has been formalizingperfect progressive
Past
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formalizedsimple
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had formalizedperfect
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was formalizingprogressive
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were formalizingprogressive
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had been formalizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of formalize
Explanation
To formalize something is to give it an official kind of status, like when you formalize an agreement by signing a contract. Two people can formalize their love and commitment to each other by getting married, and your grandparents can formalize their plan to leave their money to a certain charity by writing a will. In fact, one good way to formalize almost anything is to draw up a legal document. This verb comes from formal and its root that means "a shape or a form."
Vocabulary lists containing formalize
Content Summary 2.3: Greek and Hellenistic States in the Classical Mediterranean
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The Classical Period, c. 600 BCE to c. 600 CE
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The Postclassical Period, c. 600 CE to c. 1450
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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.
See Examples For:
Their results, presented at a visualization science conference, formalize Schrödinger's model of color and show that these familiar color qualities are built into the structure of color perception itself.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 7, 2026
Lawmakers should also formalize ESF oversight, putting guardrails around the Treasury’s use of the fund.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
The mechanism, as described by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, would help formalize and identify what goods the United States should export to and import from China.
From Barron's ● May 8, 2026
Local officials are hopeful the money can help prevent future upticks in land movement and, ideally, formalize a new pathway for additional federal funding to address the city’s ongoing hazards and worsening budget crisis.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
“If we’re committed,” I said, as evenly as I could muster, “why wouldn’t we formalize that commitment? What part of your dignity would be sacrificed by that?”
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
New research from the Boston Fed formalizes this intuition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
Olson says this new role formalizes the unofficial one she had shadowing her dad, Martin Olson, who wrote for the series during its original run.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2025
But the $120,000 purchase formalizes and guarantees future access.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 14, 2023
Feb. 18, 2022: The Fed formalizes a new ethics policy, broadens the scope of what officials can't do and extends the rules to family members.
From Reuters ● Oct. 4, 2023
He who formalizes on everything is a fool, and a grave fool is perhaps more injurious than a light fool.—Cecil.
From Pearls of Thought by Ballou, Maturin Murray
His appointment as premier, which will be formalized by King Charles at Buckingham Palace on Monday, marks the climax of a steep ascent for a politician who until last month wasn’t even a lawmaker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Elora Mukherjee: The metering policy was first implemented by DHS in 2016 and then it was formalized into written guidance in 2018.
From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2026
Since the Waters center formalized the partnership in 2021, one other adult school has adopted the arrangement and a second will do so soon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
Then, in February, the administration formalized the rollback of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, in effect making the exemptions permanent.
From Salon ● May 10, 2026
Convinced of the essential uselessness of formalized education, he had retreated from civilization.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
And it just seemed like we were so clearly making a bunch of choices, specifically not to let profit be the motivation, that it started to seem very silly that we weren’t just formalizing this.
From Slate ● Mar. 22, 2026
The post pointed to recent AI-chip export agreements reached in the Middle East as an example and said current discussions are aimed at formalizing that approach.
From Barron's ● Mar. 6, 2026
That’s essentially formalizing what’s already happening this year at platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 14, 2026
By formalizing these names, legislators are bridging this gap, reconnecting these modern identities to their 3,000-year-old roots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
Heine had resorted to the formalizing of their union under the pressure of one of those circumstances which compel a man to think more of a woman than of an idea.
From Old Love Stories Retold by Le Gallienne, Richard
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.
