formal dress

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Also see: dress

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
formal/ˈfɔːml/

▶adjective

• 1 done in accordance with rules of convention or etiquette.

  ■ having a conventionally recognized form, structure, or set of rules: he had little formal education.

  ■ of or denoting a style of writing or public speaking characterized by more elaborate grammatical structures and more conservative and technical vocabulary.

• 2 officially recognized: a formal complaint.

• 3 of or concerned with outward form rather than content.

  ■ having a form or appearance but no true function: the committee stage would be purely formal.

  ■ relating to linguistic or logical form as opposed to function or meaning.

▶noun N. Amer. an evening dress.

■ an occasion on which evening dress is worn.

– derivatives
formally adverb.

– origin ME: from L. formalis, from forma (see form).