as in imitative
using or marked by the use of something else as a basis or model
she thought the plots of most action movies were pretty formulaic
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Recent Examples of formulaic
But here’s an inconvenient truth: Many of those best practices are stale, formulaic and disconnected from how people actually experience email in 2025.
—
Deboshree Sarkar, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
An entertaining read, though the plots of the books in the series have become a bit formulaic.
—Barbara Ellis, Denver Post, 6 July 2025
Their journey to the island is formulaic, sticking to the same familiar Housewives travel schticks.
—Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 2 June 2025
These filmmakers rejected the commercial, formulaic productions of the mainstream industry, instead embracing a more authentic portrayal of social realities.
—Ali Farahmand, IndieWire, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for formulaic
Deboshree Sarkar, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
An entertaining read, though the plots of the books in the series have become a bit formulaic.
—Barbara Ellis, Denver Post, 6 July 2025
Their journey to the island is formulaic, sticking to the same familiar Housewives travel schticks.
—Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 2 June 2025
These filmmakers rejected the commercial, formulaic productions of the mainstream industry, instead embracing a more authentic portrayal of social realities.
—Ali Farahmand, IndieWire, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for formulaic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for formulaic
Adjective
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In Roeck’s picture, competitive, rather than imitative, habits of mind rose from religious warfare, establishing a cutthroat system of cultural and economic innovation which lasts to this day.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
28 July 2025
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Nautilus is bold in its changes to Captain Nemo’s story — new monsters, new villains — but imitative to other genre series in execution, and the vibe is a little didactic.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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However, YouTube clarified that the policy change is aimed at curbing unoriginal, spammy and repetitive videos.—
Zach Vallese,
CNBC,
14 July 2025
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The very best ones deviate from dupe culture, which often features unoriginal designs made with lower-quality materials.—
Irene Richardson,
Footwear News,
3 Sep. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Formulaic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/formulaic. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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