Meanings
comparative more formulaic · superlative most formulaic
- Closely following a formula or predictable pattern, as:
- Conventionalized.
a formulaic greeting
1 more example
Homeric Greeks valued clichés because not only the poets but the entire oral noetic world or thought world relied upon the formulaic constitution of thought.
1982, Walter J. Ong, Orality and Literacy, Routledge, →ISBN, pages 23–24 - Imitative; unoriginal; trite.
That TV series has become awfully formulaic in the last couple of seasons.
1 more example
Neoimpressionism quickly divided viewers: did it herald an abstract future or was it a dry, formulaic dead end?
2025 September 13, Jackie Wullschläger, “Portal to an abstract future or dry dead end?”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 15
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivecharacterized by or in accordance with some formula
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Danish skabelonagtig, formularisk
- skabelonagtigTranslations
- formulariskTranslations
German formelhaft, schablonenhaft
- formelhaftTranslations
- schablonenhaftTranslations
Swedish schablonmässig
- schablonmässigTranslations
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with formulaic
Anagrams
Cite this entry
formulaic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/formulaic
“formulaic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/formulaic. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “formulaic,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/formulaic.
Source: formulaic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.