formalistic

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for formalistic
Adjective
  • With the campaign celebrating the magic within all of us, Bowen emphasizes the power of body care as a confidence ritual.
    Lizzie Hyman, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Subsequent excavations yielded artifacts related to both ritual, such as incense burners, and agriculture.
    Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • After their dad's death, a brother and sister wind up moving in with a new foster mother (a great Sally Hawkins) going to ritualistic extremes to fix a traumatic loss.
    Brian Truitt, USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Former policewoman Nerea, dismissed from the force, is drawn back when ritualistic murders emerge, confronting ghosts of her past and city’s underworld.
    Callum McLennan, Variety, 22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Israeli officials deny any systematic violations of international law and assert that Hamas routinely used noncombatants as human shields and smuggled humanitarian assistance, accusations denied by the militant group.
    Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Over the past year Harrods has been dealing with legal action by former female employees who accused the late Al-Fayed of systematic abuse at the store, and in his other properties around the world.
    Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Jamey VanVliet, special agent in charge with the Nashville ATF office said, their job has been a very methodical and scientific process.
    Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 15 Oct. 2025
  • The 1978 portions of the storytelling are methodical and procedural, at their very best calling to mind David Fincher’s work in Zodiac.
    Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Formalistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/formalistic. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.

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