semiformal
/ˌsɛˌmaɪˈfɔrm(ə)l/adjective, noun
semiformal is an adjective meaning “Somewhat formal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled S-E-M-I-F-O-R-M-A-L, and it appears about once in every 52 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data).
What does semiformal mean?
adjective
- 1
Somewhat formal.
- 2
CanadaUSOf clothing: having a level of formality between that of informal and formal wear.
- 3
CanadaUSOf an event: having a semiformal dress code.
noun
- 1
CanadaUSA social event in which one is expected to dress in semiformal wear.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce semiformal?
- UK /ˌsɛmɪˈfɔːml/
- US /ˌsɛˌmaɪˈfɔrm(ə)l/
- US /ˌsɛmiˈfɔrm(ə)l/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of semiformal
- semi-formal
- semiformals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is semiformal?
Semiformal appears about once in every 52 million words in written English, the 225,584th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Semiformal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense adjective:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | semiformal, cuasiformal, medio/casi formal, semi-formal, cuasi-formal |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does semiformal come from?
From semi- + formal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).