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.
Writing in newspaper Canard Enchaine, Fabrice Colin also criticised the formulaic sentence structure and said he "vainly looked for a unique voice" in the prose.
From Barron's ● Sep. 25, 2026
That would allow a more formulaic approach, pretty much like cricket's live DRS reviews.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
And while this treacly coming-of-age dramedy might be as formulaic as “The Whisper Man” and “The Last House,” the film boasts something its two peers are missing: a soul.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
While these celebrity docs are hagiographic and formulaic, the interviews with Nadal and family and rivals like Federer and Novak Djokovic do push beyond the surface.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
Though not nearly so spectacular, this manifestation of grief for Bunny was in many ways a similar phenomenon—an affirmation of community, a formulaic expression of homage and dread.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
