Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To give a definite form or shape to.
- transitive verb To make formal.
- transitive verb To give formal standing or endorsement to; make official or legitimate by the observance of proper procedure.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To reduce to form; give a certain form to; model.
- To render formal.
- To affect formality; become formal.
- To use forms, as of statement.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb rare To give form, or a certain form, to; to model.
- transitive verb To render formal.
- intransitive verb obsolete To affect formality.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To give something a definite
form ; toshape . - verb To give something a
formal orofficial standing. - verb To act with
formality .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb make formal or official
- verb declare or make legally valid
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word formalize.
Examples
-
The ability to test theories empirically has been one of the primary arguments in favour of the increasing use of math in economics and the need for methods that, in the minds of their users, "formalize" economic theories and their implications.
Barry Eichengreen's Theya Culpa, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty 2009
-
Expand, deepen and further "formalize" the official channel of U.S. cooperation with the ICC, so that the court can get further involved in global conflicts such as those in Darfur, the Congo, Uganda and other areas.
-
So can we finally get that report to where we look at a structure and kind of formalize that? "
-
So can we finally get that report to where we look at a structure and kind of formalize that? "
-
Clinton pressed dos Santos and the Angolan National Assembly to complete the new constitution that would formalize democracy.
Hillary Clinton will take U.N. plane to epicenter of African conflict 2009
-
The officials said that they expected to formalize the settlement within the next day and have the details publicly available within the next week.
FDIC Reaches $64 Million Settlement With WaMu Ex-Officials Victoria McGrane 2011
-
His expected signatures would formalize an agreement that the Democratic governor reached with Republican legislative leaders last week, and likely means most of the idled 22,000 state workers could be back to work by Thursday.
-
And that made it more likely that Israel and other Sunni Arab players that regard the Islamic Republic as a threat to their core national interests would use all their available resources to deprive Iran from having access to a military instrument that would allow it to formalize the new regional balance of power.
Leon T. Hadar: What Happens After an Iran-Israel War? Leon T. Hadar 2012
-
I can just imagine the explosions if any administration of, for instance, SFWA, tried to formalize an official policy disapproving of this.
GUEST POST: Jennifer Brissett Weighs in on the Writer Pay Rate Flap 2009
-
Mr. Valli decided to formalize his couture business with a collection after making 380 special-order dresses last year.
Couture Awakens to Dreamy Looks Christina Passariello 2011
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.