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les; punctilious; regular; orderly; methodical; of a prescribed form; exact; prim; stiff; ceremonious; as, a man formal in his dress, his gait, his conversation. A cold-looking, formal garden, cut into angles and rhomboids. W. Irwing. She took off the formal cap that confined her hair. Hawthorne.

The condition or quality of being formal, strictly ceremonious, precise, etc.

In a formal manner; essentially; characteristically; expressly; regularly; ceremoniously; precisely. That which formally makes this [charity] a Christian grace, is the spring from which it flows. Smalridge. You and your followers do stand formally divided against the authorized guides of the church and rest of the peop…

A person who used forsooth much; a very ceremonious and deferential person. [R.] You sip so like a forsooth of the city. B. Jonson.

An easy, unceremonious attire; undress; also, a kind of easy robe or dressing gown worn by women.

." Shak. To send packing, to drive away; to send off roughly or in disgrace; to dismiss unceremoniously. "The parliament . . . presently sent him packing. South.

To assemble and form; to marshal; to cause to maneuver or march ceremoniously; as, to parade troops.

ng or conforming to rule; very nice or exact; punctilious in conduct or ceremony; formal; ceremonious. Addison. He was ever precise in promise-keeping. Shak.

An overprecise person; one rigidly or ceremoniously exact in the observance of rules; a formalist; -- formerly applied to the English Puritans. The most dissolute cavaliers stood aghast at the dissoluteness of the emancipated precisian. Macaulay.

To pass over, esp. in a ceremonious manner; to give in charge or possession; to deliver; to make over. So ladies in romance assist their knight, Present the spear, and arm him for the fight. Pope.

The act of proceeding, moving on, advancing, or issuing; regular, orderly, or ceremonious progress; continuous course. Bp. Pearson. That the procession of their life might be More equable, majestic, pure, and free. Trench.

Impatient; passionate; hasty; eager; eager; sharp; unceremonious; as, a quick temper. The bishop was somewhat quick with them, and signified that he was much offended. Latimer.

Solemn or ceremonious ratification; an official act of a superior by which he ratifies and gives validity to the act of some other person or body; establishment or furtherance of anything by authority to it; confirmation; approbation. The strictest professors of reason have added the sanction of their testimony. I. Wat…

The act of jostling and pushing for something desired; eager and unceremonious struggle for what is thrown or held out; as, a scramble for office. Scarcity [of money] enhances its price, and increases the scramble. Locke.

A greedy and unceremonious contestant.

Stately; ceremonious; grand. [Archaic] His feast so solemn and so rich. Chaucer. To-night we hold a splemn supper. Shak.

Ceremoniousness; impressiveness; seriousness; grave earnestness; formal dignity; gravity. With much glory and great solemnity. Chaucer. The statelines and gravity of the Spaniards shows itself in the solemnity of their language. Addison. These promises were often made with great solemnity and confirmed with an oath. J.…

ehavior; a stiff style. The French are open, familiar, and talkative; the Italians stiff, ceremonious, and reserved. Addison.

rn or throw about, as for examination or search; to roll or move in a rough, coarse, or unceremonious manner; to throw down or headlong; to precipitate; -- sometimes with over, about, etc.; as, to tumble books or papers.

o retreat. -- To turn the back on or upon, to treat with contempt; to reject or refuse unceremoniously. -- To turn the corner, to pass the critical stage; to get by the worst point; hence, to begin to improve, or to succeed. -- To turn the die or dice, to change fortune. -- To turn the edge or point of, to bend ove…