formalism

views updated

for·mal·ism / ˈfôrməˌlizəm/ • n. 1. excessive adherence to prescribed forms: academic dryness and formalism. ∎  the use of forms of worship without regard to inner significance. ∎  the basing of ethics on the form of the moral law without regard to intention or consequences. ∎  concern or excessive concern with form and technique rather than content in artistic creation. ∎  (in the theater) a symbolic and stylized manner of production. ∎  the treatment of mathematics as a manipulation of meaningless symbols.2. a description of something in formal mathematical or logical terms.DERIVATIVES: for·mal·ist n.for·mal·is·tic / ˌfôrməˈlistik/ adj.

More From encyclopedia.com