pro forma
1
7.7
- adjective
- /proʊ ˈfɔːrmə/
- Formal
:
pro forma
- The committee's approval was purely pro forma, as they had already made the decision in advance.
And any kind of loyalty to to Labour is pro forma.
- And any kind of loyalty to to Labour is pro forma.
Examples
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The manager approved the request pro forma, without even reading the report.
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He sent a thank-you note pro forma, knowing it was expected.
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The board voted pro forma on the proposal, having already made their decision in private.
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This is just pro forma.
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Don't forget to complete the pro forma paperwork!
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During the meeting, the CEO made a pro forma statement to acknowledge the employees' hard work without any real commitment to changes.
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The school's pro forma application process required only a signature, as the outcome was already predetermined.
Synonyms
11
8.7
Done quickly without real interest or care
Antonyms
How Sincere
Surface Forms
Morphology
pro + forma
The phrase is a Latin borrowing whose constituents ('pro' and 'forma') are not presented as English lemmas here, so a B1 learner knowing only everyday English vocabulary would likely not infer the technical business sense. There is nevertheless a compositional logic — literally 'for form/appearance' → 'as a matter of form' → provisional or formal figures — so the relation is partial and relies on register-specific or cross-linguistic knowledge.
Etymology
Pro forma comes from Latin words pro and forma, which mean 'for the form' or 'for appearance'. Imagine doing something just to show the rule is met — a quick, polite action with no real meaning — so pro forma now describes something 'done as a formality'.