Meanings
present singular third person formulates · participle present formulating · participle past formulated · past formulated
- transitiveTo put into a clear and definite form of statement or expression.
He failed to formulate his ideas more clearly.
3 more examples
The Assembly then formulated its demands, which were thirty in number, including the removal of all Huguenot temples built near churches
1876, George Perkins Marsh, Mediaeval and Modern Saints and MiraclesAnother source of evidence supporting the conclusion that children learn language by formulating a set of rules comes from the errors that they produce. A case in point are overgeneralized past tense forms like comed, goed, seed, buyed, bringed, etc. frequently used by young children.
1988, Andrew Radford, Transformational Grammar, Cambridge: University Press, →ISBN, page 19Look closely at the pretty seashell print on these blouses. They’re actually formulated from mathematical equations!
2020 February 7, AJ Willingham, “What a great week for rescue pets!”, in CNN
Synonyms & antonyms
verbelaborate, as of theories and hypotheses
verbcome up with (an idea, plan, explanation, theory, or principle) after a mental effort
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Bulgarian формули́рам, изразявам
- формули́рам (formulíram)to reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
- изразявам (izrazjavam)to reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
Catalan formular
- formularto reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
Czech formulovat
- formulovatto reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
Dutch verwoorden, formuleren
- verwoordento reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
- formulerento reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
Esperanto formuli
- formulito reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
Finnish muotoilla, formuloida
- muotoillato reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
- formuloidato reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
French formuler
- formulerto reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
German formulieren, darlegen
- formulierento reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
- darlegento reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
- übergebento reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
Italian formulare
- formulareto reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
Japanese 定式化する
- 定式化する (teishikika suru)to reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
Māori whakakaupapa, whakahiato
- whakakaupapato reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
- whakahiatoto reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
Polish formułować, sformułować
- formułowaćto reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
- sformułowaćto reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
Portuguese formular
- formularto reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
Romanian formula
- formulato reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
Russian формули́ровать, сформули́ровать
- формули́ровать (formulírovatʹ)to reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
- сформули́ровать (sformulírovatʹ)to reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
Spanish formular
- formularto reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
Swedish formulera
- formulerato reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
Turkish formüle etmek
- formüle etmekto reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
Ukrainian формулюва́ти, сформулюва́ти
- формулюва́ти (formuljuváty)to reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
- сформулюва́ти (sformuljuváty)to reduce to, or express in, a formula; to put in a clear and definite form of statement or expression
Cite this entry
formulate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/formulate
“formulate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/formulate. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “formulate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/formulate.
Source: formulate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.