formalism

[ fawr-muh-liz-uhm ]

noun

1. strict adherence to, or observance of, prescribed or traditional forms, as in music, poetry, and art.
2. Religion. strong attachment to external forms and observances.
3. Ethics. a doctrine that acts are in themselves right or wrong regardless of consequences.
4. Logic, Mathematics. a doctrine, which evolved from a proposal of David Hilbert, that mathematics, including the logic used in proofs, can be based on the formal manipulation of symbols without regard to their meaning.

formalism

/ ˈfɔːməˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. scrupulous or excessive adherence to outward form at the expense of inner reality or content
2. 1. the mathematical or logical structure of a scientific argument as distinguished from its subject matter
   2. the notation, and its structure, in which information is expressed
3. theatre a stylized mode of production
4. (in Marxist criticism) excessive concern with artistic technique at the expense of social values, etc
5. the philosophical theory that a mathematical statement has no meaning but that its symbols, regarded as physical objects, exhibit a structure that has useful applications Compare logicism intuitionism

Derived Forms

• ˌformalˈistic, adjective
• ˈformalist, noun
• ˌformalˈistically, adverb

Other Words From

• formal·ist noun adjective
• formal·istic adjective
• formal·isti·cal·ly adverb
• anti·formal·ist noun adjective
• non·formal·ism noun
• nonfor·mal·istic adjective
• unfor·mal·istic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of formalism¹

First recorded in 1830–40; formal ¹ + -ism

Example Sentences

They used the matrix formalism combined with the conventional inverse problem-solving methodology to find the optimal performance and the final configuration of the solar device.

From Science Daily

It doesn’t have to be this way, but deeply engrained formalism in court plays right into Trump’s hands.

From Salon

What followed was investigation of the surprisingly far-reaching consequences of the formalism.

From Science Daily

“Is there a universal basis for selection? Is there a more quantitative formalism underlying this conjectured conceptual equivalence—a formalism rooted in the transfer of information?,” they ask of the world’s disparate phenomena.

From Salon

But art thrives on contradictions, and the age-old tensions between faith and desire, between dogmatic formalism and wild, unruly feeling, were precisely what made Davies such a magnificently expressive artist.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• decorum