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Definition of "formalism" []

  • Rigorous or excessive adherence to recognized forms, as in religion or art. (noun)
  • An instance of rigorous or excessive adherence to recognized forms. (noun)
  • A method of aesthetic analysis that emphasizes structural elements and artistic techniques rather than content, especially in literary works. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "formalism" in a sentence
  • "But what has been lost in the abandonment of this kind of formalism is any serious attention to the intrinsic value of reading works of literature as opposed to all other "texts.""
  • "The purpose of mathematical formalism is to cause the writer to not only be logically tight, but also specific enough to avoid arguments over semantics."
  • "This story has been repeated innumerable times, and structures how we think about law and judging today: formalism is naïve, bad, or false; every sensible and candid person is realistic about judging."