verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Verb

1. 1
   To put into a clear and definite form of statement or expression. transitive

   "He failed to formulate his ideas more clearly."

2. 2
   elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses wordnet
3. 3
   put into words or an expression wordnet
4. 4
   come up with (an idea, plan, explanation, theory, or principle) after a mental effort wordnet
5. 5
   prepare according to a formula wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

composegive voiceinventarticulatearticulateassemble

Example

More examples

"We have to formulate a plan if we are to save her!"

Etymology

From formula + -ate.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.