- strict or excessive attention to or insistence on outward forms, as in art, or established traditions, as in religion
- an instance of this
formalism
for·mal·ismWebster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"formalism." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/formalism>.
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formalism. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/formalism
formalism
noun
- Rigorous or excessive adherence to recognized forms, as in religion or art.
- An instance of rigorous or excessive adherence to recognized forms.
- A method of aesthetic analysis that emphasizes structural elements and artistic techniques rather than content, especially in literary works.
Related Forms:
- for′mal·ist
adjective
noun
- for′mal·is′tic
adjective
- for′mal·is′ti·cal·ly
adverb
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"formalism." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/formalism>.
APA Style
formalism. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/formalism
Noun
(countable and uncountable, plural formalisms)
- Strict adherence to a given form of conduct, practice etc.
- (computing) One of several alternative computational paradigms for a given theory.
- (literature) An approach to interpretation and/or evaluation focused on the (usually linguistic) structure of a literary work rather than on the contexts of its origin or reception.
- (music) The tendency to elevate formal above expressive value in music, as in serialism.
- (mathematics, physics) A particular mathematical or scientific theory or description of a given state or effect.
Origin
From formal + -ism.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"formalism." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/formalism>.
APA Style
formalism. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/formalism
