different between formal vs complex

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English formel, borrowed from Old French formel, from Latin formalis, from forma (“form”); see form.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?f??m?l/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?f??m?l/
• Rhymes: -??(?)m?l
• Hyphenation: for?mal

Adjective

formal (comparative more formal, superlative most formal)

1. Being in accord with established forms.

2. Official.

3. Relating to the form or structure of something.
4. Relating to formation.

5. Ceremonial or traditional.

6. Proper, according to strict etiquette; not casual.

7. Organized; well-structured and planned.

8. (mathematics) Relating to mere manipulation and construction of strings of symbols, without regard to their meaning.

Antonyms

• informal

Derived terms

Related terms

• form

Translations

Noun

formal (countable and uncountable, plural formals)

1. (clothing) An evening gown.
2. An event with a formal dress code.

3. (programming) A formal parameter.

Etymology 2

see formo-

Noun

formal (plural formals)

1. (uncountable) Formalin.
2. An acetal formed from formaldehyde.

Translations

Related terms

• essive-formal
• hemiformal

Further reading

• formal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• formal in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Folmar

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin f?rm?lis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /fo??mal/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /fur?mal/

Adjective

formal (masculine and feminine plural formals)

1. formal

   Antonym: informal

Derived terms

• formalitzar
• formalment
• informal

Related terms

• forma
• formalitat

Further reading

• “formal” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “formal” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “formal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “formal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin formalis, from forma (“form”).

Adjective

formal

1. formal

References

• Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajins?ko-kryms?kotatars?kyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]?^[1], Simferopol: Dolya, ?ISBN

Galician

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin formalis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fo??mal/

Noun

formal m (plural formais)

1. site, plot
   • 1290, M. Lucas Álvarez P. Lucas Domínguez (eds.), El monasterio de San Clodio do Ribeiro en la Edad Media: estudio y documentos. Sada / A Coruña: Edicións do Castro, page 415:

     damos a uos que tenades de nos essa cassa en que uos ora morades en Eyres, con seu saydo et con todo o formal dessa casa, asi como esta çerrada de muro ao tenpo da era desta carta.

     we give you, for you to have, that house where you now dwell in Eires, with its garden and with the whole plot of that house, as it is enclosed with a wall at the time of this charter

   Synonym: sesego

2. foundation, ruin
3. mould for the production of tiles

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin formalis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fo??mal/

Adjective

formal m or f (plural formais)

1. formal

Derived terms

• formalmente

Related terms

• forma
• formalidade
• informal

Further reading

• “formal” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

References

• “formal” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006-2012.
• “formal” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006-2016.
• “formal” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006-2013.
• “formal” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “formal” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

German

Etymology

Form +? -al

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /f???ma?l/
• Rhymes: -a?l

Adjective

formal (comparative formaler, superlative am formalsten)

1. formal (being in accord with established forms)

Usage notes

Not to be confused with formell.The adjectives formell and informell express the presence or absence of ceremonies: ein informelles Treffen is a meeting in a near-private context.The adjective formal stresses the outward appearance (pro forma) as opposed to the content or the spirit.

Declension

Further reading

• “formal” in Duden online
• “formal” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Piedmontese

Etymology

From Latin formalis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fur?mal/
• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

formal

1. formal

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin formalis.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /fo??maw/
• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /fu??mal/
• Hyphenation: for?mal

Adjective

formal m or f (plural formais, comparable)

1. formal (being in accord with established forms)
2. formal (official)
3. formal (relating to the form or structure of something)
4. formal (ceremonial)
5. (logic) formal (involving mere manipulations of symbols)

Further reading

• “formal” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French formel, Latin formalis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /for?mal/

Adjective

formal m or n (feminine singular formal?, masculine plural formali, feminine and neuter plural formale)

1. formal

Declension

Related terms

• formalitate

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin formalis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fo??mal/, [fo??mal]
• Hyphenation: for?mal

Adjective

formal (plural formales)

1. formal
2. reliable, dependable

Derived terms

Related terms

• forma
• informal
  • informalidad
  • informalmente

Further reading

• “formal” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

English

Etymology

From French complexe, from Latin complexus, past participle of complect? (“to entwine, encircle, compass, infold”), from com- (“together”) and plectere (“to weave, braid”). See complect. Doublet of complexus.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -?ks

Adjective

• (UK) IPA^(key): /k?m?pl?ks/, /?k?m.pl?ks/
• (US) enPR: k?mpl?ks, k?m'pl?ks; IPA^(key): /k?m?pl?ks/, /?k?mpl?ks/

Noun

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?k?m.pl?ks/
• (US) enPR: k?m'pl?ks, IPA^(key): /?k?mpl?ks/

Adjective

complex (comparative complexer or more complex, superlative complexest or most complex)

1. Made up of multiple parts; composite; not simple.

   • Ideas thus made up of several simple ones put together, I call complex; such as beauty, gratitude, a man, an army, the universe.

2. Not simple, easy, or straightforward; complicated.
   • 1837, William Whewell, History of the Inductive Sciences

     When the actual motions of the heavens are calculated in the best possible way, the process is complex and difficult.

3. (mathematics, of a number) Having the form a + bi, where a and b are real numbers and i is (by definition) the imaginary square root of ?1.

4. (mathematics, mathematical analysis, of a function) Whose range is a subset of the complex numbers.

5. (mathematics, algebra) Whose coefficients are complex numbers; defined over the field of complex numbers.

6. (geometry) A curve, polygon or other figure that crosses or intersects itself.

Synonyms

• (not simple): complicated, detailed, difficult, hard, intricate, involved, tough

Antonyms

• (not simple): basic, easy, simple, simplex, straightforward

Derived terms

• complex function
• complexify
• complexity
• complexness
• pseudocomplex

Related terms

• complexion
• (mathematics): symplectic

Translations

Noun

complex (plural complexes)

1. A problem. (clarification of this definition is needed)
2. A network of interconnected systems.

3. A collection of buildings with a common purpose, such as a university or military base.
4. An assemblage of related things; a collection.

   • This parable of the wedding supper comprehends in it the whole complex of all the blessings and privileges exhibited by the gospel.

   1. An organized cluster of thunderstorms.
   2. A cluster of wildfires burning in the same vicinity.
   3. (taxonomy) A group of closely related species, often distinguished only with difficulty by traditional morphological methods.
5. (psychoanalysis) An abnormal mental condition caused by repressed emotions.
6. (informal, by extension) A vehement, often excessive psychological dislike or fear of a particular thing.

7. (chemistry) A structure consisting of a central atom or molecule weakly connected to surrounding atoms or molecules.
8. (mathematics) A complex number.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

complex (third-person singular simple present complexes, present participle complexing, simple past and past participle complexed)

1. (chemistry, intransitive) To form a complex with another substance
2. (transitive) To complicate.

Translations

Further reading

• complex in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• complex in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• complex at OneLook Dictionary Search

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin complexus.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /kom?pl?ks/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /kum?pl?ks/

Adjective

complex (feminine complexa, masculine plural complexos, feminine plural complexes)

1. complex

   Antonyms: simple, senzill

Derived terms

• nombre complex

Related terms

• complexitat

Noun

complex m (plural complexos)

1. complex (clarification of this definition is needed)

Further reading

• “complex” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “complex” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “complex” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “complex” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French complexe or German komplex, from Latin complexus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k?m?pl?ks/
• Hyphenation: com?plex
• Rhymes: -?ks

Adjective

complex (comparative complexer, superlative meest complex or complext)

1. complex (composite)
2. complex (complicated)
3. (mathematics) complex (containing an imaginary component or involving imaginary numbers)

Inflection

Derived terms

• complex getal
• complexiteit

Descendants

• ? Indonesian: kompleks

Noun

complex n (plural complexen, diminutive complexje n)

1. complex (collection of buildings or facilities with a common purpose)
2. (psychoanalysis) complex (abnormal mental state caused by repression)

Derived terms

• gebouwencomplex
• inferioriteitscomplex
• meerderwaarigheidscomplex
• minderwaardigheidscomplex
• sportcomplex
• superioriteitscomplex
• tempelcomplex

Related terms

• complicatie
• gecompliceerd

Descendants

• ? Indonesian: kompleks

Romanian

Etymology

From French complexe, from Latin complexus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kom?pleks]

Adjective

complex m or n (feminine singular complex?, masculine plural complec?i, feminine and neuter plural complexe)

1. complex

Declension

Antonyms

• simplu

Related terms

• complexitate

Further reading

• complex in DEX online - Dic?ionare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)