informal

UK/ɪnˈfɔː.m(ə)l/US/ɪnˈfɔɹ.m(ə)l/

adjectiveB1+Common in everyday speech and writing · #6,443 of 15,258leans written

Informal means relaxed, and not following strict rules. An informal meeting, informal dress, informal language.

It covers occasions, clothing and language. In writing, informal register uses contractions, phrasal verbs and shorter sentences, and choosing the wrong register is the commonest fault in learner writing. An informal arrangement is one with no contract behind it, which is a real distinction in law. Note informally; and formal, which does the opposite work.

Definitions of informal

1adjectiveinformalRelaxed, and not following strict rules.B1+
“The meeting was informal, so we just chatted over coffee in the kitchen.”
synonyms: casual, relaxed

informal is a quality of relaxedness.

Where it comes from

Latin
fōrmālis
Old French
formel
Middle English
formel
English
formal
English, today
informal

Built from

fōrma · Latin — form

From in- + formal. formal comes from Middle English formel, borrowed from Old French formel, from Latin fōrmālis, from fōrma (“form”); equivalent to form + al.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Word Building

Practise this word

informal in the wild

An informal economy (informal sector or grey economy) is the part of any economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government.
Informal economy
Integrating the informal economy into the formal sector is an important policy challenge.
Informal economy
After World War I, the suit was established as informal daily wear.
Informal wear
Hats, such as trilbies or bowler hats, are sometimes worn with informal wear.
Informal wear
A caregiver can be either formal or informal.
Caregiver

1 / 2

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the fōrma family

form inform

informal — used about once every 1,963 pages · #6,443 · point at the bar for the others

← Vocabulary