informal
adjUK /ɪnˈfɔː.m(ə)l/ · US /ɪnˈfɔɹ.m(ə)l/
Etymology From in- + formal.
1
Not formal or ceremonious.
- an informal get-together
- One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.” He at once secured attention by his informal method, and when presently the coughing of Jarvis […] interrupted the sermon, he altogether captivated his audience with a remark about cough lozenges being cheap and easily procurable.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter III, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
2 more examples
- Students and faculty members lunch at the cafeteria and naturally communicate freely with one another in a relaxed and informal setting.2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 4:
- Participants emphasized the importance of their social network in facilitating their strength training experiences. Family members served as informal coaches who introduced the participants to basic exercises. This role, where family members model healthy behaviors, has been identified as being important to help supporting PA participation among autistic individuals in prior work (Ku et al., 2020; Shields et al., 2012).2025 August 20, Ashlyn Barry, Justin A. Haegele, Daniel Schaefer, Kristen A. Pickett, Luis Columna, “Autistic Young Adults’ Experiences and Recommendations for Strength Training”, in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, →DOI:
2
Not in accord with the usual regulations.
- an informal agreement
3
Suited for everyday use.
- informal clothes
4
Of language Reflecting everyday, non-ceremonious usage.
- When I returned to the movie Ghilli, a Kollywood classic (Kollywood being the informal name for Tamil cinema) that I loved as a kid, I couldn’t help but question why the story continues romantically, without question, after the heroine is slapped by the supposed love of her life.2025 August 14, Saranka Maheswaran, “Cheer up, Ice Cube, your War of the Worlds movie may be really bad, but it’s not worthless”, in The Guardian:
5
Agriculture, Business, Horticulture, Lifestyle Not organized; not structured or planned.
- Synonyms
- not formal, ceremonious, not in accord with the usual regulations, suited for everyday use, colloquial
- Antonyms
- formal
- Derived terms
- informal fallacy, informal group, informalism, informalist, informality, informalize, informal learning, informal logic, informally, informal marriage, informalness, informal settler, informalwear, semi-informal, superinformal