formalism
1
9.0
- noun
- /ˈfɔːrməlɪzəm/
:
formalismo
- The law has outgrown its primitive stage of formalism when the precise word was the sovereign talisman, and every slip was fatal.
- empty formalism
You know, and, and the legal formalism stripped context from the life of the law.
- You know, and, and the legal formalism stripped context from the life of the law.
- The constraints and the formalism of a paper works well.
Examples
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As a profession, lawyers are steeped in the kind of formalism that keeps us at the fringe of our cases far too long.
Academic text (1995) -
A note on fasting in Zechariah evolves into an attack on religious formalism.
Academic text (2006) -
And so we need to have some of this sort of formalism to do this effectively.
-
The constraints and the formalism of a paper works well.
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I mean without any major formalism or mathematical tools.
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Why have I lavished so much time and formalism on these models?
Academic text (2001) -
Formalism created the basis for a quasi-scientific structure of investigation and a quasi-scientific social organization of investigators.
Academic text (1999) -
Finally, formalism, which stresses a five-paragraph paper structure and usage, provides some guidelines for editing.
Academic text (1995) -
One observer has found that Hong Kong civil servants exhibited "complacency, defensiveness, formalism, inflexibility, and technicalism."
Academic text (2001) -
The artist's work was criticized for its excessive formalism, focusing more on rules than on emotional expression.
Synonyms
66
4.4
A required action you must do before something else
5
8.6
Following rules or laws exactly without caring about their purpose
2
6.5
Valuing old customs and ways, especially in religion and culture
1
7.7
Following usual rules and beliefs without asking questions
1
8.5
Practice of keeping existing organizations and formal rules to maintain stability
A quality of following set social rules and polite behavior
Giving too much importance to ceremonies and formal actions in worship
A preference for usual ways of thinking or behaving, for example in art
A strict following of formal rules that limits new ideas
A strong focus on formal rules and ideas that stops creative thinking
Wanting to keep old customs and not accept change
Antonyms
Compounds
How Formal
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Formalism comes from form, from Latin forma meaning 'shape' or 'form', together with -ism meaning 'a way of acting or belief'. So when people talk about strict formalism they mean a strong focus on following forms or rules, often more than on the purpose behind them.