informally
Americanadverb
-
in a casual manner, without formality.
Some folks still dress to the nines in formal gowns and tuxedos, but most people dress more informally.
-
in a way that does not involve or follow prescribed procedures or go through formal or official channels.
Cases of minor misconduct or unsatisfactory performance are usually best dealt with informally.
-
in a way that is not orchestrated or arranged.
Hallways and pedestrian bridges joining the buildings provide spaces for researchers to interact informally.
-
using familiar, casual, or ordinary speech or writing.
We use different registers, speaking more informally with family and friends out of the classroom than when discussing academics within the classroom.
Other Word Forms
- quasi-informally adverb
- superinformally adverb
Etymology
Origin of informally
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.
Altman in early 2025 asked former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal to informally consult a team inside OpenAI working on making a social-media project similar to X, according to the Journal.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026
Milei’s financiers have started informally dickering with investors over pricing the next issue, which should fly around current yields in a market hungry for emerging market exposure, Grills predicts.
From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026
Abdelhamid, informally known as “The Mayor of Queens,” experienced a hate-based attack as a teenager, after which she founded Malikah, an anti-violence organization.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 2, 2026
Liverpool City Council said it had visited the building "informally" in February 2023 "to check room sizes for intended occupancy" and whether the fire alarm system was suitable.
From BBC • Jan. 28, 2026
When you are repeating large sections in more informally written music, you may simply find instructions in the music such as "to refrain," "to bridge," "to verses," etc.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
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.
