How to Use formality in a Sentence

formality

noun

• They haven't approved the loan yet, but that's just a mere formality.
• Her use of old-fashioned language lends an air of formality to her writing.
• He failed to appreciate the formality of the occasion.
• But there was no way a night like this could end with mere formalities.
  — David Wharton, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2024
• There is a formality about it, a white tie-and-tails thing.
  — Laura Manske, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
• But the next game is a formality.
  — Mitch Sherman, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
• Once Turpin hit the spin move, the rest of the play was a formality.
  — Saad Yousuf, The Athletic, 24 Nov. 2024
• Trump will try to make that final step more than a formality, of course.
  — John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2020
• The stiff formality of this view sets it apart from all the others.
  — Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025
• In past years, that process has often been viewed as a formality.
  — Liz Navratil, Star Tribune, 21 July 2021
• By the final buzzer, those two things seemed like a mere formality.
  — al, 25 Nov. 2022
• This isn’t the corner of the city for stiff white-gloved formality.
  — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Mar. 2026
• Voisin adds that the contract for the game has not been signed yet, but that is just a formality.
  — Khadrice Rollins, SI.com, 21 Feb. 2018
• The formalities drew to a close and the crowds lined up for free plates of barbecue.
  — Beth Spotswood, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 May 2018
• The vote is something of a formality given that the deal is on hold while the court case plays out.
  — Marcy Gordon, ajc, 12 Sep. 2022
• The floater was the formality before all that.
  — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Apr. 2026
• There is a part that is more classic, with formality and rigor.
  — Kati Chitrakorn, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
• The pumpkins create the homey, fall look, but a sleek glass dome adds a touch of class and formality.
  — Emily Vanschmus, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Oct. 2023
• The pumpkins create the homey, fall look, but a sleek glass dome adds a touch of class and formality.
  — Emily Williams, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Oct. 2025
• López Lizano spoke with a kind of halting formality, which charmed her.
  — Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
• How has the formality of fine dining changed in the past 30 years?
  — Beth Landman, HollywoodReporter, 10 May 2026
• Some of the strands have tiny tassels to add a touch of formality to a banister.
  — oregonlive, 28 Nov. 2020
• Still, there are linens on the tables, gratis bread, servers in vests and ties — a dash of formality for not a lot of bank.
  — Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 25 Nov. 2019
• Pleats added a touch of formality to Sunnei’s slouchy styles.
  — Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 2 May 2025
• The requests lent an air of formality to a process condemned by the West.
  — Eric Nagourney, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2022
• As such, agreeing to a transfer fee with Ajax was seen as a formality.
  — SI.com, 5 July 2019
• His election to the Hall of Fame will be a formality.
  — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2026
• Sure, Congress might have gone ahead and passed a bill, but the veto would have been just a formality.
  — Ryan Teague Beckwith, Time, 26 Oct. 2017
• Third-base coach Matt Williams waved Adames home, but that was a mere formality.
  — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 18 June 2025
• In most cases, picking up the fifth-year options is a formality.
  — Jonathan M. Alexander, Houston Chronicle, 8 Apr. 2026