Synonyms of formal

1. ball, formal, dance: usage: a lavish dance requiring formal attire
2. dinner dress, dinner gown, formal, evening gown, gown, formalwear, eveningwear, evening dress, evening clothes: usage: a gown for evening wear

1. formal (vs. informal), ceremonial, ceremonious, conventional, dress, full-dress, form-only(prenominal), full-dress, dress, nominal, titular, positive, prescribed, pro forma, perfunctory, semiformal, semi-formal, black-tie, starchy, stiff, buckram, white-tie, conventional, formal: usage: being in accord with established forms and conventions and requirements (as e.g. of formal dress); "pay one's formal respects"; "formal dress"; "a formal ball"; "the requirement was only formal and often ignored"; "a formal education"
2. formal, official (vs. unofficial): usage: characteristic of or befitting a person in authority; "formal duties"; "an official banquet"
3. formal (vs. informal), literary, formal, rhetorical: usage: (of spoken and written language) adhering to traditional standards of correctness and without casual, contracted, and colloquial forms; "the paper was written in formal English"
4. conventional, formal, schematic, nonrepresentational (vs. representational): usage: represented in simplified or symbolic form
5. formal, logical (vs. illogical): usage: logically deductive; "formal proof"
6. courtly, formal, stately, dignified (vs. undignified): usage: refined or imposing in manner or appearance; befitting a royal court; "a courtly gentleman"