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Definitions

formalize

[fawr-muh-lahyz] / ˈfɔr məˌlaɪz /


VERB
stylize
Synonyms
Antonyms
STRONG


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.

See Examples For:

But it would formalize the country’s control over what had been an open international waterway before the war, one that carried a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 8, 2026

Their results, presented at a visualization science conference, formalize Schrödinger's model of color and show that these familiar color qualities are built into the structure of color perception itself.

From Science Daily Jun. 7, 2026

They encouraged him to formalize his camp by making it a Safe Outdoor Space, the very program he’d had a hand in creating barely two years prior.

From Slate Mar. 25, 2026

The mechanism would help to formalize and identify what kinds of goods the United States should be exporting to and importing from China, he said.

From Barron's Mar. 22, 2026

“If we’re committed,” I said, as evenly as I could muster, “why wouldn’t we formalize that commitment? What part of your dignity would be sacrificed by that?”

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

New research from the Boston Fed formalizes this intuition.

From The Wall Street Journal May 20, 2026

Thursday’s agreement formalizes that position, and requires the Justice Department to return or destroy any records that provide personally identifying information moving forward.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 23, 2026

But the $120,000 purchase formalizes and guarantees future access.

From Seattle Times Nov. 14, 2023

To maintain the benefits of harvesting wild foods, we should take a One Health approach that formalizes the links between medicine and the environment.

From Salon Jul. 19, 2023

It widens the scope of history, and more precisely formalizes its functions.

From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 17, No. 097, January, 1876 by Various

Six years later, then Gov. Andrew Cuomo formalized the ban.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 14, 2026

Elora Mukherjee: The metering policy was first implemented by DHS in 2016 and then it was formalized into written guidance in 2018.

From Slate Jun. 26, 2026

Since the Waters center formalized the partnership in 2021, one other adult school has adopted the arrangement and a second will do so soon.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 8, 2026

The holiday was formalized through an order issued by prominent Civil War general John Alexander Logan External link in 1868.

From Barron's May 25, 2026

Their new science was organized around the virtues of a juge d’instruction: intellectual rigour, a set of formalized procedures, a quest for a complete proof, a confidence that one need only answer to other professionals.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

The White House is considering a cybersecurity-focused executive order that could include formalizing a government oversight group to create standards for the most powerful AI models, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

From The Wall Street Journal May 5, 2026

And it just seemed like we were so clearly making a bunch of choices, specifically not to let profit be the motivation, that it started to seem very silly that we weren’t just formalizing this.

From Slate Mar. 22, 2026

The post pointed to recent AI-chip export agreements reached in the Middle East as an example and said current discussions are aimed at formalizing that approach.

From Barron's Mar. 6, 2026

That’s essentially formalizing what’s already happening this year at platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood.

From MarketWatch Feb. 14, 2026

It was complemented by logical symbolism and logical calculus, very successful in formalizing dualism, and in eliminating logical models not fitting the dualistic structure.

From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Nadin, Mihai




Vocabulary lists containing formalize


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