formal style

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.

Amid Rosalía’s impassioned delivery in both Spanish and Japanese, ghostly processed vocals from rapper Dougie F hover in the air, a striking contrast to her formal style.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025

This portrait will be inspired by the formal style of 18th and 19th Century portraiture and will be produced by Leeds-based photographer and filmmaker Ashley Karrell.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2023

If your instructor requires a formal style for the assignment, the language should be objective and in third- person point of view.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

Called out in alphabetical order, senators stood from their chairs to announce their vote, a formal style reserved for the most important business.

From Washington Post • Oct. 6, 2018

Using a formal style when an informal style is called for results in prose that seems stuffy, pompous, affected, haughty.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker