Formally or formerly?
formally is an adverb meaning “In a formal manner”; formerly is an adverb meaning “at some time in the past”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) formerly is about 1.7 times as common as formally.
What is the difference between formally and formerly?
| formally | formerly | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adverb | adverb |
| Meaning | In a formal manner In accordance with official procedure | at some time in the past previously; once |
| Example | He was dressed too formally for the occasion | Xenia Robertson, formerly known as Xenia Isaamov, is from Ukraine |
| Pronunciation | /ˈfɔː.mə.li/ /ˈfɔːm.li/ /ˈfɔɹ.mə.li/ | /ˈfɔɹmɚli/ /ˈfɔːməli/ |
| In writing | 10 times per million words | 17 times per million words |
Sources: formally and formerly in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of formally and formerly
formally
- 1
In a formal manner
He was dressed too formally for the occasion
- 2
In accordance with official procedure
He formally filed a complaint, which involved much paperwork
- 3
In accordance with rigorous rules
He proved it formally but gave his students no intuitive feel for the matter
formerly
- 1
at some time in the past
Xenia Robertson, formerly known as Xenia Isaamov, is from Ukraine
- 2
previously; once
This ranch was formerly owned by slaveholders
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, formally or formerly?
formally appears 10 times per million words; formerly 17 times per million words.
formally 10 times per million wordsformerly 17 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search formally vs formerly?
“formally vs formerly” is searched about 1,000 times a month on Google and 70 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“formerly vs formally”, “formally or formerly”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.