formalist

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.

In the 51-page, partially redacted document, Sir Peter said Harry's lawyers had taken "an inappropriate, formalist interpretation of the Ravec process".

From BBC • Feb. 28, 2024

Outkast met at Fulton County’s Tri-Cities High in the early ’90s, where André’s Prince-inspired bohemianism complemented Big Boi’s more formalist but ambitious rapping.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 7, 2023

At the opposite end of the accessibility spectrum, there’s the severe German formalist Angela Schanelec’s “Music,” a beautifully composed but extraordinarily opaque riff on Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex.”

From New York Times • Feb. 24, 2023

Zonana again employs the same formalist approach he used in his stunning debut, "Workforce," with artfully composed still shots that observe the action in a cold, detached manner.

From Salon • Jan. 20, 2023

Frequently the same spirit which would make a man a tyrant in government, would make him a busy-body, a meddler, or a pedantic formalist, in the relations of ordinary life. 

From The Claims of Labour an essay on the duties of the employers to the employed by Helps, Arthur, Sir