formalistic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The argument advanced by the IRS is a formalistic one that results in an absurdity: Cryptocurrency wasn’t explicitly included in the list of items that meet the “readily valued property” exemption to the appraisal rules.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

It’s foundational and it’s formalistic, but it’s not going anywhere.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 8, 2024

As a filmmaker, Hogg is a seemingly incongruous blend of free-flowing and formalistic.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 27, 2021

“So your first order of preference would be the kind of formalistic line that I was just describing,” she said.

From New York Times • Nov. 2, 2020

If conditions which are local, temporal, and individual, are fixed as constant rules, and carried beyond their proper limits, are systematized as a valuable formalistic code, unavoidable error arises.

From Pedagogics as a System by Brackett, Anna C. (Anna Callender)