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Showing results for pro forma. Search instead for pro+forma.
Synonyms

pro forma

American  
[proh fawr-muh] / proʊ ˈfɔr mə /
Also proforma

adjective

  1. according to form; as a matter of form; for the sake of form.

  2. Commerce. provided in advance of shipment and merely showing the description and quantity of goods shipped without terms of payment.

    a pro forma invoice.

  3. Accounting. indicating hypothetical financial figures based on previous business operations for estimate purposes.

    a pro forma balance sheet.

adverb

  1. as a matter of form.

    Many of the school assignments appear to be done pro forma.

noun

plural

pro forma, pro formas

  1. a pro forma document.

pro forma British  
/ ˈprəʊ ˈfɔːmə /

adjective

  1. prescribing a set form or procedure

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

  1. performed in a set manner

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
pro forma Cultural  

  1. Doing something pro forma means satisfying only the minimum requirements of a task and doing it in a perfunctory way: “Her welcoming address was strictly pro forma: you could tell that her mind was a million miles away.” From Latin, meaning “by form.”

Etymology

Origin of pro forma

First recorded in 1565–75; from Latin prō formā

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.

The pro forma revenues reflect full-year sales of AprilAire, a residential specialist, which was purchased last year for more than $2 billion.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

Nathanson said in his note that, on a pro forma basis, the combined 2025 revenue of Paramount and Warner Bros. would have come in on top at $66.2 billion.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 9, 2026

There are some pro forma jokes about the sensitivities of the young, with Greg getting into not-very-hot water over misunderstood references to “white whale” and the Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 8, 2026

The groups failed to reach an agreement on the key terms, which included Rio Tinto retaining both the chairman and chief executive roles, and pro forma ownership of the combined group.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

But once again the doom and gloom was mostly pro forma.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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.