formulate
Americanverb (used with object)
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formulates,
present (3rd person singular)
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formulated,
past participle, past
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formulating
present participle
verb
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to put into or express in systematic terms; express in or as if in a formula
-
to devise
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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formulationnoun
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formulatornoun
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nonformulationnoun
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preformulationnoun
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preformulateverb (used with object)
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formulableadjective
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unformulatedadjective
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well-formulatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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formulatesimple
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formulatessimple
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have formulatedperfect
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has formulatedperfect
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am formulatingprogressive
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are formulatingprogressive
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is formulatingprogressive
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have been formulatingperfect progressive
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has been formulatingperfect progressive
Past
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formulatedsimple
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had formulatedperfect
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was formulatingprogressive
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were formulatingprogressive
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had been formulatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of formulate
Explanation
To formulate is to come up with a plan. If you are locked out of your house, you'll need to formulate a plan to get back inside — preferably one that doesn't involve kicking in the door. You can also use the verb formulate to mean "put into words." If too many people are showing up at your work in inappropriate clothes, your company may formulate a dress code policy. They may, for example, decree that shoes must be worn at all times. The verb can also mean "to develop a formula for something." If the dog ate the chicken you were going to use in your dinner, you may need to formulate a new recipe for chicken-less pot pie.
Vocabulary lists containing formulate
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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Shape Up: Form
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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:
Ms. Takaichi eventually might even have to formulate an economic plan that doesn’t hinge on “stimulus” spending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
But the offer enables us to formulate a possible structure: that of an unequal relationship between two human worlds, perhaps even a durable social asymmetry between the Neanderthal and Sapiens groups.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026
McLuhan’s theories about how different forms of media evolve almost help him formulate what would become “Saturday Night Live” many years earlier.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
Faison: When the pandemic happened, Zach and I did a rewatch podcast of “Scrubs,” and that’s where all of this started to formulate again.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026
In the sublunary sphere it might seem easy to formulate some general laws: all living creatures die; children take after their parents.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
As she formulates her proposal for a better answer, Ms. Horn laments that a knowledge of Jewish civilization is part of a “null curriculum”—history that is ignored in most American classrooms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
The DH is, therefore, "unable to move forward on this matter whilst the UK Government formulates its position in response to the recommendations".
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026
The typical comedy equation is tragedy plus time; “Diarra From Detroit” formulates an alternate calculation that joins crisis and unanswered questions.
From Salon ● Apr. 2, 2024
Not the official fundraising and administrative apparatus that runs conventions and formulates policy platforms, but the broad constellation of think tanks, nonprofits, academic experts, and journalists that collectively regulates the liberal intellectual atmosphere.
From Slate ● Mar. 19, 2024
“Who formulates the policies of these two companies?”
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
The choice of cathode material, or how the electrolyte – which separates cathode and anode – is formulated are key details influencing the performance and longevity of sodium ion batteries.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
"She formulated a philosophy of art she dubbed 'self-obliteration' based on simple motifs of obsessive repetition and proliferation," according to her website.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Aschenbrenner formulated the worldview behind his paper, called “Situational Awareness: The Decade Ahead,” while he was still at OpenAI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
The team investigated a version of gravity known as Einstein-Cartan theory, formulated in 7 dimensions on a mathematical structure called a G2-manifold with torsion.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026
The thesis is misnamed, because, as it is usually formulated, Duhem did not hold it and Quine abandoned it, but it is the fundamental conceptual underpinning of much modern history and philosophy of science.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
School district officials had not been as wise in formulating their policies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Conagra’s team is already formulating products for 2028, keeping a close eye on new anti-obesity drugs currently winding their way through the patent pipeline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Paris and Berlin want "to have a Franco-German roadmap on this issue by September", he said, adding that their economy, finance and foreign ministers had been tasked with formulating the plan.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
Most of us are not good listeners, me included, because we’re formulating an answer instead of just totally taking it in.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
Root was silent for a moment, formulating his strategy.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
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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.
