formalism

 
Pronunciation: /ˈfɔːm(ə)lɪz(ə)m/

noun

  • 1 [mass noun] excessive adherence to prescribed forms: academic dryness and formalism
  • the basing of ethics on the form of the moral law without regard to intention or consequences.
  • concern or excessive concern with form and technique rather than content in artistic creation.
  • (in the theatre) a symbolic and stylized manner of production.
  • the treatment of mathematics as a manipulation of meaningless symbols.
  • 2a description of something in formal mathematical or logical terms: there is a formalism which expresses the idea of superposition

Derivatives

formalist

noun

formalistic

Pronunciation: /-ˈlɪstɪk/
adjective