1
as in saying
to convey in appropriate or telling terms
the doctor was trying to formulate a good way to tell her that she would need surgery
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in preparing
to put (something) into proper and usually carefully worked out written form
a writer planning to formulate a response to what he considered a very unfair review of his work
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of formulating
By Wednesday, Ravens officials were already formulating plans to line up interviews for Harbaugh’s replacement, who will be just the fourth head coach in the organization’s history.
—
Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2026
This includes formulating a plan for Ilya to leave Boston and play for Ottawa, putting him closer geographically to Shane and giving them cover to start a charity together as a way to ease the public into viewing them as more than just bitter rivals on the ice.
—Jessica Derschowitz, Time, 9 Jan. 2026
The hat was supposed to disguise him from the masses who were hearing the missing woman's story and formulating an opinion.
—Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
Rodriguez closed the day care and went on to work for the local school district, earning a degree in psychology while working in special education and then at the district’s child-development center, formulating strategies for kids who struggled with discipline or classwork.
—Lauren Hilgers, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
But thinking within the SMART framework first is a great way to get started formulating your goals.
—Kelly Mickle, SELF, 29 Dec. 2025
Many brands are moving away from talc products and instead formulating with alternatives that can provide the same blurring, anti-caking action like cornstarch, rice starch, mica and silica without the cancer risk.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 11 Dec. 2025
That said, a move before the early February deadline remains a possibility, and NBA insiders are doing the work of consolidating several candidates' assets on paper and formulating likely packages coming the Bucks' way.
—Max Dible, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025
Clean fashion follows in the footsteps of clean beauty, which had a significant rise in the early 2010s when brands such as Beautycounter began formulating products free from chemicals like parabens and formaldehyde — widely linked to health issues spanning from hormone disruption to cancer.
—Sophie Benson, Vogue, 30 Oct. 2025
Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2026
This includes formulating a plan for Ilya to leave Boston and play for Ottawa, putting him closer geographically to Shane and giving them cover to start a charity together as a way to ease the public into viewing them as more than just bitter rivals on the ice.
—Jessica Derschowitz, Time, 9 Jan. 2026
The hat was supposed to disguise him from the masses who were hearing the missing woman's story and formulating an opinion.
—Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
Rodriguez closed the day care and went on to work for the local school district, earning a degree in psychology while working in special education and then at the district’s child-development center, formulating strategies for kids who struggled with discipline or classwork.
—Lauren Hilgers, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
But thinking within the SMART framework first is a great way to get started formulating your goals.
—Kelly Mickle, SELF, 29 Dec. 2025
Many brands are moving away from talc products and instead formulating with alternatives that can provide the same blurring, anti-caking action like cornstarch, rice starch, mica and silica without the cancer risk.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 11 Dec. 2025
That said, a move before the early February deadline remains a possibility, and NBA insiders are doing the work of consolidating several candidates' assets on paper and formulating likely packages coming the Bucks' way.
—Max Dible, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025
Clean fashion follows in the footsteps of clean beauty, which had a significant rise in the early 2010s when brands such as Beautycounter began formulating products free from chemicals like parabens and formaldehyde — widely linked to health issues spanning from hormone disruption to cancer.
—Sophie Benson, Vogue, 30 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for formulating
Verb
-
Reyes defended the compensation, saying it was negotiated in good faith.—
Ivan Taylor,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
-
But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other officials disputed the DHS claims, saying videos showed the woman driving away from agents, not aiming at them.—
Judy L. Thomas,
Kansas City Star,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Packers are preparing for a wild-card game Saturday night in Chicago.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
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Listen to Glaser discuss preparing to host the 2026 Golden Globes on Ripa's podcast episode above.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Vandenberg intended to turn explosives into a tool of intimidation, and this verdict sends the message that attempts to substitute violence for expressing one’s opinion has no place in our communities and will be met with federal consequences.—
Ashley Carnahan,
FOXNews.com,
12 Jan. 2026
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Moon, an Annie Awards and BMI Film & TV Awards winner, incorporated his passions for music in family life, from expressing his daily observations in a sing-songy manner to playing the piano to entertain friends and family.—
Alexandra Del Rosario,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Moon’s last credit, as shared on his IMDB page, was composing the music for the 2025 series The Artist.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
11 Jan. 2026
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Now, GenAI is enabling computers to learn patterns from massive datasets and to generate brand-new content on their own, such as writing human-like stories, say, or creating original images, or even composing music.—
Glenn Hunter,
Dallas Morning News,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Fatigue, hunger, and heat kept them from articulating any thoughts.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
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Hazareesingh and Gibson emphasize the revolution’s role in articulating a radical idea of universal rights and cultivating new forms of democratic participation.—
Laurent Dubois,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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And with the dawn of the Space Age, scientists began drafting mission proposals and designs for interstellar spacecraft.—
Matthew S Williams,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Jan. 2026
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In the aftermath of the Palisades Fire, city officials are drafting a measure to increase funding for the Los Angeles Fire Department.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Quick was hardly to blame for New York's eighth defeat in nine games, with mistakes by teammates in front of him putting the veteran goaltender in all sorts of difficult positions.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
15 Jan. 2026
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So, not surprisingly, Mars is putting even more shows on sale.—
Jim Harrington,
Mercury News,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The story goes that Monchi rang them up, simply stating that Villa wanted to sign their best player.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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Newton said the woman got closer to him and started threatening him by stating that her husband would beat him up.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Formulating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/formulating. Accessed 22 Jan. 2026.
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