Adjacent Words

Informal definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

INFORM'AL, a. [in and formal.] Not in the regular or usual form; as an informal writing; informal proceedings.
1. Not in the usual manner; not according to custom; as an informal visit.
2. Not with the official forms; as the secretary made to the envoy an informal communication.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: not formal; "conservative people unaccustomed to informal dress"; "an informal free-and-easy manner"; "an informal gathering of friends" [ant: formal]
2: not officially recognized or controlled; "an informal agreement"; "a loose organization of the local farmers" [syn: informal, loose]
3: used of spoken and written language [ant: formal]
4: having or fostering a warm or friendly and informal atmosphere; "had a cozy chat"; "a relaxed informal manner"; "an intimate cocktail lounge"; "the small room was cozy and intimate" [syn: cozy, intimate, informal]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Date: 1585 1. marked by the absence of formality or ceremony <an informal meeting> <an informal group> 2. characteristic of or appropriate to ordinary, casual, or familiar use <informal English> <informal clothes> • informality noun • informally adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 without ceremony or formality (just an informal chat). 2 (of language, clothing, etc.) everyday; normal. Phrases and idioms: informal vote NZ & Austral. an invalid vote or voting paper. Derivatives: informality n. (pl. -ies). informally adv.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Informal In*form"al, a. [Pref. in- not + formal.] 1. Not in the regular, usual, or established form; not according to official, conventional, prescribed, or customary forms or rules; irregular; hence, without ceremony; as, an informal writting, proceeding, or visit. 2. Deranged in mind; out of one's senses. [Obs.] These poor informal women. --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. Informal speech or behaviour is relaxed and friendly rather than serious, very correct, or official. She is refreshingly informal... ? formal ADJ: usu v-link ADJ • informally She was always there at half past eight, chatting informally to the children. ADV: ADV after v • informality He was overwhelmed by their friendly informality. 2. An informal situation is one which is relaxed and friendly and not very serious or official. The house has an informal atmosphere. ? formal ADJ 3. Informal clothes are casual and suitable for wearing when you are relaxing, but not on formal occasions. For lunch, dress is informal. = casual ? formal ADJ • informally Everyone dressed informally in shorts or jeans. ADV 4. You use informal to describe something that is done unofficially or casually without planning. The two leaders will retire to Camp David for informal discussions. ADJ: usu ADJ n • informally He began informally to handle Ted's tax affairs for him. ADV

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Irregular, out of the usual course, not according to the prescribed form. 2. Unconventional, unceremonious. 3. Simple, natural, familiar, easy.

Moby Thesaurus

Bohemian, affable, beat, beat-up, bedraggled, blowzy, breakaway, careless, casual, chintzy, colloquial, common, conversational, cordial, degage, dilapidated, drabbletailed, draggled, draggletailed, easy, easygoing, en deshabille, everyday, familiar, far out, folksy, free, free and easy, fringy, frowzy, frumpish, frumpy, garden-variety, gracious, grubby, haymish, heretical, heterodox, hippie, homely, homey, in dishabille, in rags, irregular, kinky, loose, lumpen, maverick, messy, mussy, natural, negligent, nonstandard, not cricket, not done, not kosher, offbeat, offhand, offhanded, ordinary, original, plain, poky, private, ragged, raggedy, relaxed, ruinous, scraggly, seedy, shabby, shoddy, simple, slack, slatternly, slipshod, sloppy, slovenly, sluttish, sociable, sordid, special, spoken, spontaneous, sporty, squalid, substandard, tacky, tattered, unaffected, unassuming, unauthorized, unceremonious, unconstrained, unconventional, uneducated, unfashionable, unkempt, unliterary, unneat, unofficial, unorthodox, unpretentious, unsightly, unstudied, untidy, vernacular, way out