What's the difference between formal and polite?

Formal


Definition:

  • (n.) See Methylal.
  • (a.) Belonging to the form, shape, frame, external appearance, or organization of a thing.
  • (a.) Belonging to the constitution of a thing, as distinguished from the matter composing it; having the power of making a thing what it is; constituent; essential; pertaining to or depending on the forms, so called, of the human intellect.
  • (a.) Done in due form, or with solemnity; according to regular method; not incidental, sudden or irregular; express; as, he gave his formal consent.
  • (a.) Devoted to, or done in accordance with, forms or rules; punctilious; regular; orderly; methodical; of a prescribed form; exact; prim; stiff; ceremonious; as, a man formal in his dress, his gait, his conversation.
  • (a.) Having the form or appearance without the substance or essence; external; as, formal duty; formal worship; formal courtesy, etc.
  • (a.) Dependent in form; conventional.
  • (a.) Sound; normal.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) We present the analysis both formally and in geometric terms and show how it leads to a general algorithm for the optimization of NMR excitation schemes.
  • (2) If Lagarde had been placed under formal investigation in the Tapie case, it would have risked weakening her position and further embarrassing both the IMF and France by heaping more judicial worries on a key figure on the international stage.
  • (3) The appointment of the mayor of London's brother, who formally becomes a Cabinet Office minister, is one of a series of moves designed to strengthen the political operation in Downing Street and to patch up the prime minister's frayed links with the Conservative party.
  • (4) Eleven per cent of the courses that responded provided no formal substance misuse training.
  • (5) However ITV deny that any approach or offer, formal or informal, has been made.
  • (6) The wives and girlfriends who were originally invited to accompany their playing partners on the World Cup tour have had their invitations formally rescinded.
  • (7) This formalism allows resolution of the intrinsic protein folding-unfolding parameters (enthalpy, entropy, and heat capacity changes) as well as the ligand interaction parameters (binding stoichiometry, enthalpy, entropy, and heat capacity changes).
  • (8) This demonstrates a considerable range in surgeons' attitudes to day surgery despite its formal endorsement by professional bodies, and identifies what are perceived as the organizational and clinical barriers to its wider introduction.
  • (9) Children as young as 18 months start by sliding on tiny skis in soft supple boots, while over-threes have more formal lessons in the snow playground.
  • (10) Britain and France formally announced this week they would abstain, along with Portugal and Bosnia.
  • (11) After the formal PIRC inquiry was triggered by the lord advocate, Frank Mulholland, Bayoh’s family said police gave them five different accounts of what had happened before eventually being told late on Sunday afternoon how he died.
  • (12) Instituut voor Sociale Geneeskunde, Vrije Universiteit (The process of directing self-care, informal and formal assistance).
  • (13) He was greeted in Kyoto by Abe, with the men dispensing with the formal handshake that starts most head of governments' greetings in favour of a full body hug.
  • (14) A formal notion of relatability is defined, specifying which physically given edges leading into discontinuities can be connected to others by interpolated edges.
  • (15) Formal audits of the continuing medical education activities of physicians licensed in Michigan were undertaken to assess compliance with a law mandating participation in 150 hours of continuing medical education each 3 years.
  • (16) His central focus was on the neutrality of government rules – or what he called (on p117), "the Rule of Law, in the sense of the rule of formal law, the absence of legal privileges of particular people designated by authority" – not the elimination of government rules: "The liberal argument is in favor of making the best possible use of the forces of competition as a means of coordinating human efforts, not an argument for leaving things just as they are."
  • (17) The Washington Post report is the latest in a flurry of unattributed articles suggesting that the Justice Department is unlikely to take up formal charges against Assange.
  • (18) The government will formally begin the sale of Royal Mail on Thursday by announcing its intention to float the 497-year-old postal service on the London Stock Exchange.
  • (19) His formal entry into the contest marks a key moment in the nascent race for the Republican nomination, which is set to be the most congested presidential primary either party has held since 1976.
  • (20) The formal results of the analysis show that when psychological considerations are incorporated into a state-dependent utility model, the normative results customarily obtained concerning value-of-life need to be qualified.

Polite


Definition:

  • (v.) Smooth; polished.
  • (v.) Smooth and refined in behavior or manners; well bred; courteous; complaisant; obliging; civil.
  • (v.) Characterized by refinement, or a high degree of finish; as, polite literature.
  • (v. t.) To polish; to refine; to render polite.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) "Zayani reportedly cited the political sensitivity of naturalising Sunni expatriates and wanted to avoid provoking the opposition," the embassy said.
  • (2) Then a handful of organisers took a major bet on the power of people – calling for the largest climate change mobilisation in history to kick-start political momentum.
  • (3) A diplomatic source said the killing appeared particularly unusual because of Farooq lack of recent political activity: "He was lying low in the past two years.
  • (4) As May delivered her statement in the chamber, police helicopters hovered overhead and a police cordon remained in place around Westminster, but MPs from across the political spectrum were determined to show that they were continuing with business as usual.
  • (5) Anytime they feel parts of the Basic Law are not up to their current standards of political correctness, they will change it and tell Hong Kong courts to obey.
  • (6) I hope this movement will continue and spread for it has within itself the power to stand up to fascism, be victorious in the face of extremism and say no to oppressive political powers everywhere.” Appearing via videolink from Tehran, and joined by London mayor Sadiq Khan and Palme d’Or winner Mike Leigh, Farhadi said: “We are all citizens of the world and I will endeavour to protect and spread this unity.” The London screening of The Salesman on Sunday evening wasintended to be a show of unity and strength against Trump’s travel ban, which attempted to block arrivals in the US from seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.
  • (7) Migrant voters are almost as numerous as current Ukip supporters but they are widely overlooked and risk being increasingly disaffected by mainstream politics and the fierce rhetoric around immigration caused partly by the rise of Ukip,” said Robert Ford from Manchester University, the report’s co-author.
  • (8) "There is … a risk that the political, trade, and gas frictions with Russia could lead to strong deterioration in economic relations between the two countries, with a significant drop in Ukraine's exports to and imports from Russia.
  • (9) Faisal Abu Shahla, a senior official in Fatah, an organisation responsible for a good deal of repression of its own when it was in power, accuses Hamas of holding 700 political prisoners in Gaza as part of a broad campaign to suppress dissent.
  • (10) Keep it in the ground campaign Though they draw on completely different archives, leaked documents, and interviews with ex-employees, they reach the same damning conclusion: Exxon knew all that there was to know about climate change decades ago, and instead of alerting the rest of us denied the science and obstructed the politics of global warming.
  • (11) If Cory Bernardi wasn’t currently in a period of radio silence as he contemplates his immediate political future he’d be all over this too, mining the Trumpocalypse – or in our domestic context, mining the fertile political fault line where Coalition support intersects with One Nation support.
  • (12) But Howard added that it may take a while and he is not confident the political reality will change.
  • (13) The size of Florida makes the kind of face-to-face politics of the earlier contests impossible, requiring instead huge ad spending.
  • (14) Nor is this political fantasy: at the European elections in May, across 51 authorities in the north-west and north-east, Ukip finished ahead of Labour in 18 and as its main rival in 30.
  • (15) Speaking to pro-market thinktank Reform, Milburn called for “more competition” and said the shadow health team were making a “fundamental political misjudgment” by attempting to roll back policies he had overseen.
  • (16) Just before Christmas the independent Kerslake report severely criticised Birmingham city council for its dysfunctional politics and, in particular, its handling of the so-called Trojan Horse affair, in which school governors were said to have set out to bring about an Islamic agenda into the curriculum contents and the day-to-day running of some schools.
  • (17) Ukip and the Greens are beneficiaries of this new political reality – as, arguably, is the SNP as it prepares to invade Labour’s heartland in Scotland next May.
  • (18) To safeguard its long-time regional ally, Iran gave full political, economic and military backing to the embattled Syrian president.
  • (19) What’s needed is manifesto commitments from all the main political parties to improve the help single homeless people are legally entitled to.
  • (20) Cameron, who faces intense political pressure from the UK Independence party in the runup to the 2014 European parliamentary elections, believes voters will need to be consulted if the EU agrees a major treaty revision in the next few years.