| Library / English Dictionary |
FORMALISM
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The practice of scrupulous adherence to prescribed or external forms
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("formalism" is a kind of...):
pattern; practice (a customary way of operation or behavior)
Derivation:
formalistic (concerned with or characterized by rigorous adherence to recognized forms (especially in religion or art))
Sense 2
Meaning:
The doctrine that formal structure rather than content is what should be represented
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("formalism" is a kind of...):
doctrine; ism; philosophical system; philosophy; school of thought (a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school)
Antonym:
imitation (the doctrine that representations of nature or human behavior should be accurate imitations)
Derivation:
formalistic (concerned with or characterized by rigorous adherence to recognized forms (especially in religion or art))
Sense 3
Meaning:
(philosophy) the philosophical theory that formal (logical or mathematical) statements have no meaning but that its symbols (regarded as physical entities) exhibit a form that has useful applications
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("formalism" is a kind of...):
philosophical doctrine; philosophical theory (a doctrine accepted by adherents to a philosophy)
Domain category:
philosophy (the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics)
Derivation:
formalistic (concerned with or characterized by rigorous adherence to recognized forms (especially in religion or art))
