Informal

Definition: Informal

Informal

Adjective

1. Not formal; "conservative people unaccustomed to informal dress"; "an informal free-and-easy manner"; "an informal gathering of friends".

2. Not officially recognized or controlled; "an informal agreement"; "a loose organization of the local farmers".

3. Used of spoken and written language.

4. Having or fostering a warm or friendly atmosphere; especially through smallness and informality; "had a cozy chat"; "a relaxed informal manner"; "an intimate cocktail lounge"; "the small room was cozy and intimate".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "informal" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1604. (references)

Note: Informal \In*form"al\, adjective. [Prefix in- not formal.]. (references)

Synonyms: Informal

Illegality

Unwarranted, unwarrantable; unauthorized; informal, unofficial; injudicial, extrajudicial.

Neologism

Colloquialism, informal speech, informal language.

Unconformity

Adjective: uncomformable, exceptional; abnormal, abnormous; anomalous, anomalistic; out of order, out of place, out of keeping, out of tune, out of one's element; irregular, arbitrary; teratogenic; lawless, informal, aberrant, stray, wandering, wanton; peculiar, exclusive, unnatural, eccentric, egregious; out of the beaten track, off the beaten track, out of the common, out of the common run; beyond the pale of, out of the pale of; misplaced; funny.

Crosswords: Informal

Indonesian (informal), Portuguese (informal), Portuguese Brazilian (informal), Spanish (casual, disaffectedly, informal, lackadaisical, offhand, unbusinesslike, unreliable, unsound, untrustworthy).

Una Historia informal de la moda (1970)

Leatherface Speaks: An Informal Interview with Gunnar Hansen (2001)

El Informal (1999)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Informal (reference)

• Making Musicals: An Informal Introduction to the World of Musical Theatre (reference)

• Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920's (reference)

• The Brooklyn Dodgers: An Informal History (Writing Baseball) (reference)

  (more book examples)

Periodicals

• Informal Learning Review (reference)

  (more periodical examples)

Theater & Movies

• De'Medici Kitchen, Vol.3: Informal Meals (reference)

• SUPERSTAR STUDENT: Jam Writing and Informal Writing (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• Informal Introduction (reference)

• Informal Sessions (reference)

• Tenderly: An Informal Session (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

A popular, informal campsite at Pike creek on private land (Alvord Ranch) on the east side of Steens Mountain. Credit: Mark Armstrong.

[NIH workers on the air - informal interviews broadcast by WTOP]. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

Informal portrait photograph, taken 23 April 1944. Credit: NAVY.

Some of the attendees at an informal party given by Rear Admiral Harold B. Miller, USN(Retired), for foreign correspondents who served in the Pacific area during World War II. The gathering was held at the Toots Shor restaurant in New York City Present are (left to right): Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN; Actor Henry Fonda; Admiral Forrest P. Sherman, USN, Chief of Naval Operations; and Under Secretary of the Navy Dan A. Kimball. Mr. Fonda, who served as a Naval Officer during World War II, was starring in the play "Mr. Roberts" at this time. Credit: NAVY.

Two of the ship's officers standing by a Dahlgren 12-pounder rifled howitzer, mounted on an iron field carriage, in the James River, Virginia, 1864-65. Photographed by Matthew Brady. Note Hunchback's "walking beam" mechanism, officer's swords and informal uniforms. Credit: NAVY.

Sensations of the young man who thought "quite informal" meant a dinner coat. Credit: Library of Congress.

Informal recess -- for an Easter egg hunt. Credit: Library of Congress.

Drought committee has informal discussion with farmers of Gillette, Wyoming. Credit: Library of Congress.

United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration training center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. Languages of countries to which they may be assigned are taught in informal seminars as part of the students' regular training before. Credit: Library of Congress.

Scene at the opening of the House of Representatives today--Members left their seats to hold an informal reception before the Speaker's desk--Speaker Gillette [sic] is shown in the the chair. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Health

Throughout the 1980's, other publications appeared, filled with informal observations about symptoms and coping strategies. (references)

Ideally, the formal (paid) community-based services should complement rather than impede services provided by informal caregivers. (references)

People with ADRD may be adversely affected as services designed specifically to meet their needs, especially those intended to support the informal care system, are assigned low priority. (references)

Business

Informal ones are more frequent. (references)

It is nearly absent in the informal sector, despite government efforts. (references)

Informal dining continues to be a major form of entertainment for Belgians. (references)

Children

Guinea

Prostitution exists in the informal economic sector and employs girls as young as 14 years of age. (references)

Sierra Leone

Schools are financed largely by formal and informal fees, but many families cannot afford to pay them. (references)

Afghanistan

Some girls received an education in informal home schools, which were tolerated to varying degrees by the Taliban around the country. (references)

Civil Liberties

Papua New Guinea

Several hundred more live in informal, unrecognized camps adjacent to the border with Indonesia. (references)

Burma

However, obtaining an informal approval from local authorities creates a tenuous legal situation. (references)

Kuwait

Informal weekly, social and political gatherings of men, known as "diwaniyas," are protected by the Constitution. (references)

Economic History

Guinea

There is a significant informal trading sector. (references)

Cuba (09/01)

Many have opted to enter the informal economy or black market. (references)

Guinea

Informal sector continues to be a major contributor to the economy. (references)

Human Rights

Swaziland

In traditional courts, defendants are not permitted formal legal counsel but may speak on their own behalf and are assisted by informal advisers. (references)

Morocco

The former Sahrawi detainees have formed an informal association whose principal objective is to seek redress and compensation from the Government for their detention. (references)

United Kingdom

Of the 25 formal and 410 informal complaints received during the year, most involved allegations of verbal abuse or excessive helicopter flights adjacent to residential areas. (references)

Indigenous People

Australia

The Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra, an informal NGO of Aboriginals that has set up a small structure on public land opposite the Old Parliament building, seeks to publicize aboriginal grievances. (references)

Minorities

Dominican Republic

Darker-skinned Dominicans also face informal barriers to social and economic advancement. (references)

Korea

Amerasians face no legal discrimination, but informal discrimination is prevalent, making it more difficult for them to succeed in academia, business, or government. (references)

Political Economy

Mexico

There is extensive child labor in agriculture and the informal economy. (references)

BOLIVIA

Some members of the informal economy also participate in labor organizations. (references)

Peru

More than half of the economically active population works in the informal sector. (references)

Political Rights

Mexico

The PAN has utilized more informal methods to increase female registration. (references)

Djibouti

There also are informal limits on the number of seats for each group in the Parliament. (references)

Mexico

All political parties are attempting to increase the number of women who run for elected office through formal and informal means. (references)

Trade

El Salvador

Informal "fees" are sometimes requested by officials to expedite routine tasks. (references)

Ecuador

Ecuador continues to impose certain formal and informal quantitative restrictions. (references)

Vietnam

Estimates suggest that over US $2 billion is in circulation in the informal market. (references)

Travel

Kenya

In general, Kenyan business executives are relatively informal and open. (references)

Trinidad

Business people are informal and friendly and value personal contact and courtesy. (references)

Australia

Australians are personally gracious, yet informal and direct in their business dealings. (references)

Women

South Africa

The law also protects persons who have insecure and informal rights and interests in land; many women are in this category. (references)

Guatemala

More working women than men are employed in the informal sector of the economy, where pay and benefits generally are lower. (references)

Nigeria

Women remain underrepresented in the formal sector but play an active and vital role in the country's important informal economy. (references)

Worker Rights

Afghanistan

Most persons worked in the informal sector. (references)

Tanzania

Labor standards are not enforced in the informal sector. (references)

Mozambique

Regulations on the informal labor sector are not enforced. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Expressions using "informal": informal dress ♦ informal economy ♦ informal education ♦ informal finance ♦ informal inference ♦ informal language ♦ informal lounge ♦ informal meeting ♦ informal reasoning ♦ informal sector ♦ informal speech ♦ informal talk ♦ informal will ♦ informal work. Additional references.

Beginning with "informal": informal-sector, informal-seeming.

Ending with "informal": formal-informal.

Albanian

i thjeshtë (abecedarian, artless, austere, bare, chaste, childlike, common, easy, elementary, enlisted, folksy, foolproof, Hick, home-bred, homely, homespun, humble, inelaborate, ingenuous, inornate, mere, modest, native, natural, neat, not mingled, onefold, ordinary, plain, prime, primitive, private, pure, quotidian, rude, russet, rustic, simple, unaffected, unassuming, unceremonious, unpretending, unpretentious, unsophisticated, very), pa ceremoni (familiarly, without ceremony), jozyrtar (officious, pragmatic, unauthorized, unceremonious, unofficial), joformal (shirt-sleeve). (various references)

Arabic 

‏غير رسمي (casual, familiar, off the record, unceremonious, unofficial), ‏عامي (base, colloquial, plebeian, slang, slangy, vernacular, vulgar, yearly). (various references)

Bulgarian 

всекидневен (commonplace, daily, day to day, everyday, knockabout, workaday), официозен (officious), нередовен (freak, inordinate, irregular, occasional, odd), неформален, неофициален (inofficial, neglige, negligee, off the record, officious, unceremonious, unofficial), непринуден (affable, artless, childlike, easy, familiar, free, go-as-you-please, rustic, simple, spontaneous, unconstrained, unlabored, unlaboured, unpretending, unpretentious, unstarched, unstrained, unstudied, unstuffy), интимен (downstage, familiar, fireside, inner, inofficial, intimate, keyhole, near, pally, personal, private, privy, tete a tete, thick). (various references)

Chinese 

不拘形式 (unceremonious). (various references)

Czech

neoficiální (inofficious, off the record, unofficial), nenucený (casual, easy, effortless, glib, nonchalant, relaxed, spontaneous, throwaway, unceremonious, unconstrained, unstudied), neformální (casual, laid back, unceremonious), hovorový (colloquial, spoken). (various references)

Danish

informel samtale (informal discussion, informal talk), uformelt møde (informal meeting), uformel tilegnelse af viden (informal education, informal learning), uformel ræsonneren (informal reasoning, natural deduction, nonresolution theorem proving), uformel gruppe (informal group), uddannelse uden for uddannelsessystem (informal education), summarisk angivelse (informal entry, summary declaration), plausibel slutning (informal inference, plausible inference), plausibel inferens (informal inference, plausible inference), naturlig deduktion (informal reasoning, natural deduction, nonresolution theorem proving), jakkesæt (suit), finansiering gennem den uformelle sektor (informal finance), daglig påklædning (business suit, informal dress, lounge suit). (various references)

Dutch

informele, informeel. (various references)

Farsi 

غیررسمی (Unofficial), خصوصی (Backside, Backstage, Closet, Personal, Private, Subjective), بی قاعده (Desultory, Loose), بی تشرفات . (various references)

Finnish

ilman muodollisuuksia (without ceremonies). (various references)

French

informel, simple, familier, familière. (various references)

German

formlos (amorphous, casual, formless, informally, shapeless, shapelessly, unceremonious, unceremoniously, unstructured), unformell, informell. (various references)

Greek 

άτυποσ (atypical), ανεπίσημοσ (unofficial), ανεπίσημος (casual). (various references)

Hebrew 

לא פורמלי, לא רשמי (officious). (various references)

Hungarian

fesztelen (airy, breezy, colloquial, easy, free, free and easy, off-hand, relaxed, shirt-sleeve, shirttail, unreserved, unselfconscious, unstrained). (various references)

Indonesian

informal. (various references)

Italian

informale (casual), non ufficiale (unofficial), familiare (colloquial, domestic, familiar, families, family, home, homely, member of a family, natural, normal, relative). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

仮 (acting, assumed, fleeting, interim, provisional, temporary, tentative, unauthorized). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

なかまうち (among ones people, private), ないない (confidential, family circle, private, secret, the inside), しまい (end, Noh dance in plain clothes, older sister and younger brother, sisters, termination), ひこうしき, うちうち (confidential, family circle, private, secret, the inside), かり (acting, assumed, borrowing, clip, cut, debt, fleeting, hunting, interim, loan, lower official, potash, potassium, provisional, prune, reap, shear, temporary, trim, unauthorized, wild goose), りゃくしき (simplified), インフォーマル , じまい (end, locally produced rice, Noh dance in plain clothes, termination), てがる (cheap, easy, offhand, simple). (various references)

Korean 

약식. (various references)

Manx

neuformoil (unceremonious). (various references)

Norwegian

uformell (intimate). (various references)

Pig Latin

informalay.(various references)

Portuguese

informal. (various references)

Portuguese Brazilian

informal. (various references)

Romanian

neoficial (casual, casually, officious, officiously, unofficial), neceremonios (abrupt, familiar, in a family way, off hand), liber (at a loose end, at large, at leisure, autonomous, available, bast, bondless, clear, disengaged, easily, empty, fetterless, free, go-as-you-please, gracious, gratis, leisured, loose, loosely, naked, odd, off, off duty, open, smooth, spontaneous, unchecked, uncombined, unconstrained, unengaged, unhampered, unhindered, unoccupied, unreserved, vacant, void), fãrã formalitate, degajat (airily, breezy, debonair, easy, free, free and easy, untrammelled). (various references)

Russian 

неформальный, неофициальный (inofficial, non-official, unaccredited, unofficial), непринужденный (easy, relaxed, unaffected, unbuttoned, unconstrained, unstarched, unstrained, unstudied). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

neformalan (casual). (various references)

Spanish

informal (casual, disaffectedly, lackadaisical, offhand, unbusinesslike, unreliable, unsound, untrustworthy). (various references)

Swedish

informell (familiar, unceremonious, undress). (various references)

Turkish

teklifsiz (familiar, folksy, unbuttoned, unceremonious, unconstrained, unconventional, without circumstance), resmi olmayan (off the record, unauthorized, unofficial), laubali (cavalier, familiar, offhand, reckless, too familiar, unbuttoned, unceremonious, unconventional), kanunen geçersiz, formaliteye uygun olmayan. (various references)

Turkmen 

hoю (informal good-bye, okay, well). (various references)

Ukrainian

неформальний (non-technical), невимушений (cavalier, chatty, easy, laidback, natural, relaxed, there, unbuttoned, unrestrained, unstudied). (various references)

Vietnamese 

không theo thủ tục quy định, không chính thức không nghi thức thân mật. (various references)

Welsh

anffurfiol (deformed). (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "informal": informalities, informality, informally. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Informal" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: infirma, Infomat, informa, Informap, informat, informe, innormal, inormal, irforme, nizoral, unformal. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: formalin.

-1 letter: aliform.

-2 letters: firman, florin, foliar, formal, inform, marlin, normal, oilman.

-3 letters: aloin, amino, amnio, filar, final, flair, flora, folia, foram, frail, inarm, infra, liman, loran, manor, minor, moira, molar, moral, noria, roman.

-4 letters: airn, alif, amin, amir, anil, aril, fail, fain, fair, fano, farl, farm, faro, fiar, fila, film, filo, fino, firm, firn, flam.

+1 letter: foraminal, formalins.

+2 letters: informally.

+3 letters: californium, confirmable, formalising, formalizing, formulating, formulation, infomercial, informality, microfaunal.

+4 letters: californiums, formulations, inflammatory, infomercials, malformation.

+5 letters: antiformalist, deformalizing, deformational, flameproofing, foraminiferal, formalization, formularizing, informalities, informational, informatively, informatorily, malformations, microfilament, reformational, reformulating, reformulation.