formally

adverb

Definition of formallynext
as in carefully

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of formally Last week, Wilkinson formally joined Paramount’s defense team, which until now has been helmed by Kessler. — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 4 Aug. 2026 Blanche will still be able to serve as acting attorney general while senators are on vacation, if he isn’t formally confirmed before. — Alison Durkee, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026 The subsidies — formally the Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration — were enacted in 2024 to stabilize premiums in the wake of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, which shifted some Part D costs to the insurers. — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2026 But any votes on formally punishing Miller or Edwards will have to wait until September; the House is on its August recess now. — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 4 Aug. 2026 By 2009, the province had convened a National Commission on Dying with Dignity to decide, formally, how far that right extended. — Sai Rajagopal, STAT, 4 Aug. 2026 Carr already seems to be using the case-by-case approach even though his FCC hasn’t formally adopted it yet. — ArsTechnica, 4 Aug. 2026 Among 4,000 workers surveyed globally, only 34% say their organization practices pay transparency, formally or informally. — Kristin Stoller, Fortune, 3 Aug. 2026 The deal is expected to formally close in the third quarter pending regulatory approval. — Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 3 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for formally
  1. carefully
  2. systematically
  3. orderly
  4. gingerly
  5. meticulously
  6. methodically
  7. deliberately
Adverb
  • After securing Swift in its grasp, LINK will carefully fire its three ion thrusters, aiming to boost the observatory back to its original orbit over the course of two to three months.
    — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The Voyagers have been skirting this dismal fate for years now, with NASA engineers carefully monitoring each spacecraft’s power supplies and plotting out when to turn off individual instruments to keep the missions going as long as possible.
    — Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of carefully
Adverb
  • That allows hackers to systematically guess those phrases and then drain crypto wallets.
    — Ty Roush, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Trump has systematically starved Social Security of funds for customer service, a cynical effort to make this all-important program seem more burdensome to the seniors who rely on it.
    — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of systematically
Adverb
  • The man worked as a hospital orderly, according to the AP.
    — Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 24 June 2026
  • Policymakers have moved to keep the selloff orderly.
    — Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
Definition of orderly
Adverb
  • Many of the dummies evolved admirably over the competition’s final hour, complete with fine laugh lines and subtle details like creeping wisps of nose hair, which were gingerly applied with tweezers and Krazy Glue.
    — John Semley, Harpers Magazine, 28 July 2026
  • Zambada, wearing a tan jail suit over an orange T-shirt, walked gingerly as deputy federal marshals escorted him to and from the courtroom, which was packed with drug enforcement agents and prosecution staff.
    — Michael R. Sisak, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2026
Definition of gingerly
Adverb
  • Once their spring blooms are complete, Aggrey meticulously collects the seed pods from the clarkias, gilias and phacelias, processes the seeds and packages them for gifting before the subsequent spring.
    — Pedro Moura, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026
  • The vaccine schedule is meticulously designed from decades of research, timing doses to protect children when most vulnerable, not arbitrarily.
    — Omer Awan, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of meticulously
Adverb
  • After 9/11, efforts were misdirected, while China methodically copied the US playbook, investing heavily in scholarships and exchanges globally.
    — James K. Glassman, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Prosecutors allege that Clancy methodically planned the murders by sending her husband to pick up medication and takeout, and then strangling the children with exercise bands at their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home while he was gone.
    — Melina Khan, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of methodically
Adverb
  • The other two fires were also started by people, though not necessarily deliberately, investigators have said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Record-low water levels along the Danube River have exposed dozens of German military shipwrecks near the Serbian town of Prahovo, where an estimated 200 vessels were deliberately scuttled by retreating Nazi forces in 1944.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of deliberately

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formalizing
formally
formals
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Cite this Entry

“Formally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/formally. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

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