1
as in unconventional
not rigidly following established form, custom, or rules
an informal meeting allowed everyone to get acquainted
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in casual
not designed to be worn only on special occasions
chose an informal flowery dress
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in colloquial
used in or suitable for speech and not formal writing
the use of informal language in a scholarly article is really inappropriate
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of informal
Becerra, Thurmond, Villaraigosa and Yee have reportedly formed an informal pact not to participate in any debate that does not include all of them, which Yee referenced in a Tuesday afternoon news conference.
—
Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
Cuspinera Medina was arrested in June 2024 under informal accusations of tax evasion, currency trafficking and money laundering.
—Sarah Moreno
updated March 24, Miami Herald, 24 Mar. 2026
The policy at the center of the case began as an informal practice at the tail end of the Obama administration, when immigration officers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry dealt with a large influx of Haitian asylum seekers by turning them away when the officers deemed the port to be at capacity.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
In many other states, senior living communities can allow residents to drink alcohol or host informal social hours, though policies vary widely.
—Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for informal
Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
Cuspinera Medina was arrested in June 2024 under informal accusations of tax evasion, currency trafficking and money laundering.
—Sarah Moreno
updated March 24, Miami Herald, 24 Mar. 2026
The policy at the center of the case began as an informal practice at the tail end of the Obama administration, when immigration officers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry dealt with a large influx of Haitian asylum seekers by turning them away when the officers deemed the port to be at capacity.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
In many other states, senior living communities can allow residents to drink alcohol or host informal social hours, though policies vary widely.
—Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for informal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for informal
Adjective
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Twenty years after the end of Laguna Beach, Lauren Conrad, Stephen Colletti and Kristin Cavallari are having an unconventional high school reunion.—
Kirsten Chuba,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Mar. 2026
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But the highest threat still comes from Iran’s unconventional arsenal, like drones, fast-attack small vessels and even unmanned boats that are filled with explosives.—
Annette Choi,
CNN Money,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The podcast aesthetic—casual, long-winded, sometimes profane—directly opposes, perhaps not coincidentally, the sterility and bizarre right-this-minute quality of cable news, on which everything seems incomplete and therefore manipulative, and yet somehow endless.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
24 Mar. 2026
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The result is a smaller but more engaged core market — one that is spending more per household even as casual participation declines.—
Asaf Elia-Shalev,
Sun Sentinel,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The realism, though, comes in the particularity of the Spanish dialogue, the cultural exchanges, and colloquial understandings that run through this community — and from Mexico to the United States.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
19 Mar. 2026
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The country that lays colloquial claim to the pastime has historically underperformed, quite clearly because other nations were simply trying harder in the form of better players agreeing to participate.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
12 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The final tour on May 30 will be Avon and Simsbury including architectural themes of vernacular farmhouses, Georgian and Federal homes and the classic saltbox home.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Translated into many vernacular languages, the poetry and philosophy of Firdausi, Attar, Rumi, Hafez, Sa‘di, Nizami, Ibn Sina, and Nizam al-Mulk assumed a canonical authority across Asia.—
Pankaj Mishra,
The New York Review of Books,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Informal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/informal. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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