Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of formulaic
Explanation
Anything formulaic follows a formula or pattern, especially in a mechanical, by-the-numbers way. A formulaic TV show is predictable and probably similar to lots of other shows. Have you ever noticed how many songs are similar to others? When a song is almost identical to previous songs and it’s not very original at all, it's formulaic. This word usually conveys a lack of imagination. If you call a movie formulaic, you're saying it's so much like other movies that it probably didn't need to be made. A formulaic speech follows a pattern that's been used many times before. The opposite of formulaic is original.
Vocabulary lists containing formulaic
Future Tense
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Shut Up, This Is Serious
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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.
That would allow a more formulaic approach, pretty much like cricket's live DRS reviews.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
When the bar for the films themselves is so dreadfully low, I can’t imagine a Marvel fan getting upset about the technical specs of their repetitive, predictable, formulaic, lab-made, half-finished superhero movies.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
“They’re often dry, formulaic and almost meaningless. It’s better if you tell your own story.”
From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026
A significant subset of them are formulaic in style—expository, structured, smooth, coherent and impersonal, traits that overlap with AI-generated prose.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Organum became very popular across Europe - and, dare I say it, formulaic to the point of tedium.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
