informaladj.

Brit.

/ɪnˈfɔːml/, U.S.

/ᵻnˈfɔrm(ə)l/

Forms: late Middle English informyle, late Middle English 1600s– informal, 1600s informall; Scottish pre-1700 informall, pre-1700 1700s– informal.

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation; perhaps modelled on a Latin lexical item, or perhaps modelled on a French lexical item. Etymons: in- prefix⁴, formal adj.

Etymology: < in- prefix⁴ + formal adj., probably after either classical Latin informis or Middle French informe: see inform adj.¹ Compare informed adj.², inform adj.¹In sense 4 after post-classical Latin informis inform adj.¹ (compare inform adj.¹ 1a).

†1. Lacking form; formless. Obsolete. rare.

ΚΠ

a1460 Knyghthode & Bataile (Pembr. Cambr. 243) 307 How may I lerne of hym that is vnlerned, How may a thing informal fourme me?

a. Not done or made according to a recognized or prescribed form; not observing established procedures or rules; unofficial; irregular.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > [adjective] > not conforming to standard behaviour

irregular1395

unformalc1449

informalc1475

disordered1561

monstrous1568

odd1577

irregulate1579

exorbitant1613

free-spirited1613

exorbitating1632

inconformable1633

extravagant1650

inconform1659

eccentric1685

unconformable1702

outrageous1778

unconventional1840

erratic1841

kinky1844

Bohemian1846

radical1869

Bohemic1874

nonconforming1899

hard case1904

jazz1917

offbeat1922

deviant1935

deviate1945

oddball1945

left field1951

way out1955

boho1958

non-conformant1960

sideways1969

the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > [adjective] > not formal

informalc1475

rough and ready1860

shirtsleeve1896

c1475–1600 (a1473) J. Fortescue Declaration in Wks. (1869) I. 534 (MED) I am right sory that euer I made eny suche argument; for it is an informyle tale, and no kynde of silogisme; Wherfor the minor is inpossible and tharfor not true.

1563 in D. H. Fleming Reg. Christian Congregation St. Andrews (1889) I. 207 Quhilkis [written evidence] red..ar fundyn informall and irrelevant.

1599 A. Hume Epist. to G. Montcrieff in Hymnes sig. H4^v Hes thow not heard in oppin audience, The purpos vaine, the feckles conference, Th'informall reasons, and impertinent Of courtiours.

1608 F. Bacon Speech Union Laws in Resuscitatio (1661) 24 If our Laws, and proceedings, be too Prolixe and Formall, it may be theirs are too informall and Summary.

a1676 H. Guthry Mem. (1702) 61 His Majesty's Warrant sent to them for prorogation was so informal, that it could not subsist in Law.

1774 S. Hallifax Anal. Rom. Law (1795) 36 Soldiers and Sailors, in England, have the Privilege of making Informal Testaments.

1786 E. Burke Articles of Charge against W. Hastings iii. 33 The said Hastings..did..send to the Rajah a charge in writing, which, though informal and irregular, may be reduced to four articles.

1823 C. Lamb in London Mag. Jan. 20/1 The informal habit of his mind, joined to an inveterate impediment of speech, forbade him to be an orator.

1836 W. Irving Astoria III. 255 He accordingly made an informal overture to the President of the United States..through Mr. Gallatin, offering to renew his enterprise.

1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People iii. §2. 119 In a previous though informal gathering..the convent had already chosen its sub-prior..as Archbishop.

1936 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 50 253 The federal reserve banks were almost swamped with inquiries and the receipt of formal and informal loan applications.

1976 Times 6 Sept. 15/4 Any informal agreement within a trade association would be against Japan's fair trading laws.

1998 C. J. Miller et al. Consumer & Trading Law xii. 557 If the informal approach failed it would be open to the trading standards officer to serve the trader with a formal notice.

†b. Perhaps: disordered in mind. Obsolete. rare. Cf. formal adj. 4c.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > [adjective] > insanity or madness > affected with

woodc725

woodsekc890

giddyc1000

out of (by, from, of) wit or one's witc1000

witlessc1000

brainsickOE

amadc1225

lunaticc1290

madc1330

sickc1340

brain-wooda1375

out of one's minda1387

frenetica1398

fonda1400

formada1400

unwisea1400

brainc1400

unwholec1400

alienate?a1425

brainless1434

distract of one's wits1470

madfula1475

furious1475

distract1481

fro oneself1483

beside oneself1490

beside one's patience1490

dementa1500

red-wood?1507

extraught1509

misminded1509

peevish1523

bedlam-ripe1525

straughta1529

fanatic1533

bedlama1535

daft1540

unsounda1547

stark raving (also staring) mad1548

distraughted1572

insane1575

acrazeda1577

past oneself1576

frenzy1577

poll-mad1577

out of one's senses1580

maddeda1586

frenetical1588

distempered1593

distraught1597

crazed1599

diswitted1599

idle-headed1599

lymphatical1603

extract1608

madling1608

distracteda1616

informala1616

far gone1616

crazy1617

March mada1625

non compos mentis1628

brain-crazed1632

demented1632

crack-brained1634

arreptitiousa1641

dementate1640

dementated1650

brain-crackeda1652

insaniated1652

exsensed1654

bedlam-witteda1657

lymphatic1656

mad-like1679

dementative1685

non compos1699

beside one's gravity1716

hyte1720

lymphated1727

out of one's head1733

maddened1735

swivel-eyed1758

wrong1765

brainsickly1770

fatuous1773

derangedc1790

alienated1793

shake-brained1793

crack-headed1796

flighty1802

wowf1802

doitrified1808

phrenesiac1814

bedlamite1815

mad-braineda1822

fey1823

bedlamitish1824

skire1825

beside one's wits1827

as mad as a hatter1829

crazied1842

off one's head1842

bemadded1850

loco1852

off one's nut1858

off his chump1864

unsane1867

meshuga1868

non-sane1868

loony1872

bee-headed1879

off one's onion1881

off one's base1882

(to go) off one's dot1883

locoed1885

screwy1887

off one's rocker1890

balmy or barmy on (or in) the crumpet1891

meshuggener1892

nutty1892

buggy1893

bughouse1894

off one's pannikin1894

ratty1895

off one's trolley1896

batchy1898

twisted1900

batsc1901

batty1903

dippy1903

bugs1904

dingy1904

up the (also a) pole1904

nut1906

nuts1908

nutty as a fruitcake1911

bugged1920

potty1920

cuckoo1923

nutsy1923

puggled1923

blah1924

détraqué1925

doolally1925

off one's rocket1925

puggle1925

mental1927

phooey1927

crackers1928

squirrelly1928

over the edge1929

round the bend1929

lakes1934

ding-a-ling1935

wacky1935

screwball1936

dingbats1937

Asiatic1938

parlatic1941

troppo1941

up the creek1941

screwed-up1943

bonkers1945

psychological1952

out to lunch1955

starkers1956

off (one's) squiff1960

round the twist1960

yampy1963

out of (also off) one's bird1966

out of one's skull1967

whacked out1969

batshit1971

woo-woo1971

nutso1973

out of (one's) gourd1977

wacko1977

off one's meds1986

a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) v. i. 234 I doe perceiue These poore informall women, are no more But instruments of some more mightier member That sets them on.

c. Now chiefly Australian and New Zealand. Of a vote, ballot paper, etc.: not in due form; spoilt, invalid.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > expression of choice by some approved method > [adjective] > of voting-paper: rendered invalid

informal1841

spoiled1944

1841 Times 6 July 4/7 The number of informal votes recorded will greatly diminish the majority against Mr. Garnett, and render the return of Mr. Brotherton illegal.

1894 Daily Advocate (Newark, Ohio) 15 Feb. 5/4 It was estimated that one-third of those who had recorded their votes were women, and it is to the credit of the latter that the number of informal votes was surprisingly small.

1920 Times 25 May 25/3 There was an unusually large number of informal votes showing that the electors did not generally understand the new method of voting.

1957 Wanganui Herald (N.Z.) 2 Dec. 5/2 (table) Cotterill 6121 Mrs MacLean 4626 Marks 3167. There were 39 informal votes on the preliminary count.

2005 Advertiser (Adelaide) (Nexis) 29 Aug. 13 There were 20 informal ballot papers which could not be counted because members had written the name of former Australian Hotels Association general manager John Lewis on them as the preferred candidate.

d. Medicine. Designating the voluntary (non-compulsory) admission of a patient to a psychiatric hospital, usually with fewer formalities than are required for a formal admission; relating to such admission. Also (of a patient): admitted on such a basis.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > [adjective] > relating to voluntary admission to mental hospital

informal1952

1952 Michigan Law Rev. 50 853 Easy and informal admission is the most humane to the patient and least expensive for the taxpayer.

1959 Act 7 & 8 Eliz. II c. 72 §5 Whenever possible admission and treatment should be on an informal basis and..compulsion should only be resorted to where it is absolutely essential in the interests of the patient and for his safety or that of the public.

1968 K. O'Hara Bird-cage vii. 65 ‘I don't understand this about informal patients.’ ‘It should have been explained to you. We don't call it certification now, but we do still need powers to protect patients from themselves.’

1970 Times 9 Sept. 16/6 (advt.) Is there a Christian community who would accept a maladjusted 29-year-old girl? She is an informal patient in a mental hospital.

2004 Independent 6 Oct. 2/3 A doctor gave him a sedative and he was transferred as an ‘informal patient’ to Bournewood hospital's intensive behavioural unit.

e. Economics. Designating unregulated commercial activity which takes place outside the official or mainstream economy, and is carried out on a small scale and on a self-employed, casual, or irregular basis; (also) involved in such activity. Frequently in informal economy, informal sector.Typically used to refer to any form of economic activity which goes unreported in official statistics, including illegal activity. Cf. grey economy n. at grey adj. and n. Compounds 1c(a), underground economy n. at underground adj. 4e.

ΚΠ

1972 Canad. Jrnl. Afr. Stud. 6 368 Development planners admit that income generated through the informal sector is necessary for national development.

1973 Jrnl. Mod. Afr. Stud. 11 87 The informal economy, with its emphasis on tertiary activities, may be developing at a rate faster than other sectors of the national economy.

1992 R. M. Bone Geogr. Canad. North iii. ix. 212 The monetized informal economy is divided into legal activities and illegal ones (the underground economy). Informal businesses, called micro-enterprises, are small-scale and labour-intensive.

2004 Wall St. Jrnl. 12 Apr. (Central ed.) a2/6 Onerous regulations that restrict informal entrepreneurs to their poor barrios.

a. Characterized by absence of formality or ceremony; casual, relaxed.

ΚΠ

1791 E. Nairne Poems 66 A short, irregular and informal meal, frequently taken on journeys, to save time.

1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Informal, without ceremony.

1880 R. Grant Confessions Frivolous Girl 174 That word informal is one of the deadliest foes to higher civilization. It is only a synonyme for free-and-easy.

1883 Harper's Mag. Oct. 652/1 His breakfast was a very informal meal.

1912 E. Ferber Frog & Puddle in Buttered Side Down i. 12 I've lived here six months and I'm not on informal terms with anybody except Teddy, the landlady's dog.

1954 R. Jarrell Pictures from Inst. i. 4 He was a nice-looking and informal and unassuming man.

1972 K. Lo Chinese Food i. 50 There are no pubs or bars and most of the informal leisurely drinking takes place in tea-houses.

2004 Holiday Which? Winter 60/2 Eating out in Brittany is often more informal than elsewhere in France.

b. Designating the vocabulary, idiom, and grammatical structures suitable to everyday language and conversation rather than to official or formal contexts.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > a language > register > [adjective] > colloquial

vulgar1677

idiomatic1712

colloquial1752

informal1832

demotic1872

1832 Times 21 Dec. 3 Had the London juries..been as inexperienced as those of France, their verdict would have been couched most probably in the same informal language.

1845 S. Judd Margaret ii. ii. 226 Language has its rules as well as that whereto it applies. Informal language on formal subjects is altogether contrary to Logic.

1925 G. P. Krapp Eng. Lang. in Amer. I. v. 296 The informal or local speech will often seem more penetrating, more genuine than the standard speech.

1954 Amer. Q. 6 195 (note) The informal grammar and free style of punctuation that Bellamy used in his private writings are carried here with little attempt at editing.

1994 Appl. Linguistics 15 269 Writing activities required the production of letters and invitations using formal and informal registers.

2003 M. Abley Spoken Here ii. 39 Australia's brand of whitefella language sounds relaxed and informal to most English speakers elsewhere. But to many Aborigines it reeks of snobbishness.

c. Of dress: casual; suitable for everyday wear.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > for specific purpose > informal wear

informal1883

easy-breezy1891

schleppy1966

1883 Syracuse (N.Y.) Standard 2 July 4/7 (advt.) Many styles of business suits for Men and Boys, many of them such as are worn for informal dress suits.

1955 Househ. Guide & Almanac (News of World) 197/2 When you are told that dress is ‘informal’ you can wear a silk afternoon or cocktail dress and your escort would put on a lounge suit.

1992 N.Y. Times Mag. 26 Jan. 50/1 Everyone wanted to dress down. The guys wore very informal clothes.

2003 Glasgow Herald (Nexis) 23 Aug. 21 Dress code informal—no penguin suits.

4. Theology. Of faith: not formed or animated by charity (charity n. 1). Now rare. Cf. inform adj.¹ 1a, informed adj.² 1.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > aspects of faith > [adjective] > inform

informeda1530

inform faith1546

informal1813

1813 J. Allen tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. II. iii. ii. 19 First, we must refute the nugatory distinction, which prevails in the schools, of formal and informal faith.

1828 K. H. Digby Broad Stone of Honour: Tancredus xviii. 323 That which Lewis Grenadensis calls the living faith, that which is joined with love, in opposition to the informal or dead faith which is without love.

1951 Church Hist. 20 61 Speculative knowledge, including ‘historical’ faith (the practical equivalent of the Catholic ‘informal’ faith), belongs to the understanding alone.

Compounds

informal settlement n. chiefly South African an unplanned and unregulated urban settlement erected on land not officially proclaimed as a residential area.

ΚΠ

1979 H. A. Anthony Challenge of Squatter Settlem. i. 3 The United Nations prefers to refer to them as informal settlements or as spontaneous settlements; somehow these words sound better than squatter settlements, a term that automatically carries with it prejudicial legal connotations.

1983 E. J. Haarhoff Shelter in Informal Settlem. i. 1 Informal settlements may be illegal in the sense that the land occupation and/or dwelling does not conform to defined standards and procedures.

2007 Baltimore Sun (Nexis) 16 Dec. 23 a Diepsloot began as a temporary ‘informal settlement’, but with South Africa's dire housing shortage and poverty, it has taken on a rickety, squalid permanence.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	informal
释义	informaladj. Brit. /ɪnˈfɔːml/, U.S. /ᵻnˈfɔrm(ə)l/ Forms: late Middle English informyle, late Middle English 1600s– informal, 1600s informall; Scottish pre-1700 informall, pre-1700 1700s– informal. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation; perhaps modelled on a Latin lexical item, or perhaps modelled on a French lexical item. Etymons: in- prefix⁴, formal adj. Etymology: < in- prefix⁴ + formal adj., probably after either classical Latin informis or Middle French informe: see inform adj.¹ Compare informed adj.², inform adj.¹In sense 4 after post-classical Latin informis inform adj.¹ (compare inform adj.¹ 1a). †1. Lacking form; formless. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ a1460 Knyghthode & Bataile (Pembr. Cambr. 243) 307 How may I lerne of hym that is vnlerned, How may a thing informal fourme me? 2. a. Not done or made according to a recognized or prescribed form; not observing established procedures or rules; unofficial; irregular. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > [adjective] > not conforming to standard behaviour irregular1395 unformalc1449 informalc1475 disordered1561 monstrous1568 odd1577 irregulate1579 exorbitant1613 free-spirited1613 exorbitating1632 inconformable1633 extravagant1650 inconform1659 eccentric1685 unconformable1702 outrageous1778 unconventional1840 erratic1841 kinky1844 Bohemian1846 radical1869 Bohemic1874 nonconforming1899 hard case1904 jazz1917 offbeat1922 deviant1935 deviate1945 oddball1945 left field1951 way out1955 boho1958 non-conformant1960 sideways1969 the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > [adjective] > not formal informalc1475 rough and ready1860 shirtsleeve1896 c1475–1600 (a1473) J. Fortescue Declaration in Wks. (1869) I. 534 (MED) I am right sory that euer I made eny suche argument; for it is an informyle tale, and no kynde of silogisme; Wherfor the minor is inpossible and tharfor not true. 1563 in D. H. Fleming Reg. Christian Congregation St. Andrews (1889) I. 207 Quhilkis [written evidence] red..ar fundyn informall and irrelevant. 1599 A. Hume Epist. to G. Montcrieff in Hymnes sig. H4^v Hes thow not heard in oppin audience, The purpos vaine, the feckles conference, Th'informall reasons, and impertinent Of courtiours. 1608 F. Bacon Speech Union Laws in Resuscitatio (1661) 24 If our Laws, and proceedings, be too Prolixe and Formall, it may be theirs are too informall and Summary. a1676 H. Guthry Mem. (1702) 61 His Majesty's Warrant sent to them for prorogation was so informal, that it could not subsist in Law. 1774 S. Hallifax Anal. Rom. Law (1795) 36 Soldiers and Sailors, in England, have the Privilege of making Informal Testaments. 1786 E. Burke Articles of Charge against W. Hastings iii. 33 The said Hastings..did..send to the Rajah a charge in writing, which, though informal and irregular, may be reduced to four articles. 1823 C. Lamb in London Mag. Jan. 20/1 The informal habit of his mind, joined to an inveterate impediment of speech, forbade him to be an orator. 1836 W. Irving Astoria III. 255 He accordingly made an informal overture to the President of the United States..through Mr. Gallatin, offering to renew his enterprise. 1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People iii. §2. 119 In a previous though informal gathering..the convent had already chosen its sub-prior..as Archbishop. 1936 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 50 253 The federal reserve banks were almost swamped with inquiries and the receipt of formal and informal loan applications. 1976 Times 6 Sept. 15/4 Any informal agreement within a trade association would be against Japan's fair trading laws. 1998 C. J. Miller et al. Consumer & Trading Law xii. 557 If the informal approach failed it would be open to the trading standards officer to serve the trader with a formal notice. †b. Perhaps: disordered in mind. Obsolete. rare. Cf. formal adj. 4c. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > [adjective] > insanity or madness > affected with woodc725 woodsekc890 giddyc1000 out of (by, from, of) wit or one's witc1000 witlessc1000 brainsickOE amadc1225 lunaticc1290 madc1330 sickc1340 brain-wooda1375 out of one's minda1387 frenetica1398 fonda1400 formada1400 unwisea1400 brainc1400 unwholec1400 alienate?a1425 brainless1434 distract of one's wits1470 madfula1475 furious1475 distract1481 fro oneself1483 beside oneself1490 beside one's patience1490 dementa1500 red-wood?1507 extraught1509 misminded1509 peevish1523 bedlam-ripe1525 straughta1529 fanatic1533 bedlama1535 daft1540 unsounda1547 stark raving (also staring) mad1548 distraughted1572 insane1575 acrazeda1577 past oneself1576 frenzy1577 poll-mad1577 out of one's senses1580 maddeda1586 frenetical1588 distempered1593 distraught1597 crazed1599 diswitted1599 idle-headed1599 lymphatical1603 extract1608 madling1608 distracteda1616 informala1616 far gone1616 crazy1617 March mada1625 non compos mentis1628 brain-crazed1632 demented1632 crack-brained1634 arreptitiousa1641 dementate1640 dementated1650 brain-crackeda1652 insaniated1652 exsensed1654 bedlam-witteda1657 lymphatic1656 mad-like1679 dementative1685 non compos1699 beside one's gravity1716 hyte1720 lymphated1727 out of one's head1733 maddened1735 swivel-eyed1758 wrong1765 brainsickly1770 fatuous1773 derangedc1790 alienated1793 shake-brained1793 crack-headed1796 flighty1802 wowf1802 doitrified1808 phrenesiac1814 bedlamite1815 mad-braineda1822 fey1823 bedlamitish1824 skire1825 beside one's wits1827 as mad as a hatter1829 crazied1842 off one's head1842 bemadded1850 loco1852 off one's nut1858 off his chump1864 unsane1867 meshuga1868 non-sane1868 loony1872 bee-headed1879 off one's onion1881 off one's base1882 (to go) off one's dot1883 locoed1885 screwy1887 off one's rocker1890 balmy or barmy on (or in) the crumpet1891 meshuggener1892 nutty1892 buggy1893 bughouse1894 off one's pannikin1894 ratty1895 off one's trolley1896 batchy1898 twisted1900 batsc1901 batty1903 dippy1903 bugs1904 dingy1904 up the (also a) pole1904 nut1906 nuts1908 nutty as a fruitcake1911 bugged1920 potty1920 cuckoo1923 nutsy1923 puggled1923 blah1924 détraqué1925 doolally1925 off one's rocket1925 puggle1925 mental1927 phooey1927 crackers1928 squirrelly1928 over the edge1929 round the bend1929 lakes1934 ding-a-ling1935 wacky1935 screwball1936 dingbats1937 Asiatic1938 parlatic1941 troppo1941 up the creek1941 screwed-up1943 bonkers1945 psychological1952 out to lunch1955 starkers1956 off (one's) squiff1960 round the twist1960 yampy1963 out of (also off) one's bird1966 out of one's skull1967 whacked out1969 batshit1971 woo-woo1971 nutso1973 out of (one's) gourd1977 wacko1977 off one's meds1986 a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) v. i. 234 I doe perceiue These poore informall women, are no more But instruments of some more mightier member That sets them on. View more context for this quotation c. Now chiefly Australian and New Zealand. Of a vote, ballot paper, etc.: not in due form; spoilt, invalid. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > expression of choice by some approved method > [adjective] > of voting-paper: rendered invalid informal1841 spoiled1944 1841 Times 6 July 4/7 The number of informal votes recorded will greatly diminish the majority against Mr. Garnett, and render the return of Mr. Brotherton illegal. 1894 Daily Advocate (Newark, Ohio) 15 Feb. 5/4 It was estimated that one-third of those who had recorded their votes were women, and it is to the credit of the latter that the number of informal votes was surprisingly small. 1920 Times 25 May 25/3 There was an unusually large number of informal votes showing that the electors did not generally understand the new method of voting. 1957 Wanganui Herald (N.Z.) 2 Dec. 5/2 (table) Cotterill 6121 Mrs MacLean 4626 Marks 3167. There were 39 informal votes on the preliminary count. 2005 Advertiser (Adelaide) (Nexis) 29 Aug. 13 There were 20 informal ballot papers which could not be counted because members had written the name of former Australian Hotels Association general manager John Lewis on them as the preferred candidate. d. Medicine. Designating the voluntary (non-compulsory) admission of a patient to a psychiatric hospital, usually with fewer formalities than are required for a formal admission; relating to such admission. Also (of a patient): admitted on such a basis. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > [adjective] > relating to voluntary admission to mental hospital informal1952 1952 Michigan Law Rev. 50 853 Easy and informal admission is the most humane to the patient and least expensive for the taxpayer. 1959 Act 7 & 8 Eliz. II c. 72 §5 Whenever possible admission and treatment should be on an informal basis and..compulsion should only be resorted to where it is absolutely essential in the interests of the patient and for his safety or that of the public. 1968 K. O'Hara Bird-cage vii. 65 ‘I don't understand this about informal patients.’ ‘It should have been explained to you. We don't call it certification now, but we do still need powers to protect patients from themselves.’ 1970 Times 9 Sept. 16/6 (advt.) Is there a Christian community who would accept a maladjusted 29-year-old girl? She is an informal patient in a mental hospital. 2004 Independent 6 Oct. 2/3 A doctor gave him a sedative and he was transferred as an ‘informal patient’ to Bournewood hospital's intensive behavioural unit. e. Economics. Designating unregulated commercial activity which takes place outside the official or mainstream economy, and is carried out on a small scale and on a self-employed, casual, or irregular basis; (also) involved in such activity. Frequently in informal economy, informal sector.Typically used to refer to any form of economic activity which goes unreported in official statistics, including illegal activity. Cf. grey economy n. at grey adj. and n. Compounds 1c(a), underground economy n. at underground adj. 4e. ΚΠ 1972 Canad. Jrnl. Afr. Stud. 6 368 Development planners admit that income generated through the informal sector is necessary for national development. 1973 Jrnl. Mod. Afr. Stud. 11 87 The informal economy, with its emphasis on tertiary activities, may be developing at a rate faster than other sectors of the national economy. 1992 R. M. Bone Geogr. Canad. North iii. ix. 212 The monetized informal economy is divided into legal activities and illegal ones (the underground economy). Informal businesses, called micro-enterprises, are small-scale and labour-intensive. 2004 Wall St. Jrnl. 12 Apr. (Central ed.) a2/6 Onerous regulations that restrict informal entrepreneurs to their poor barrios. 3. a. Characterized by absence of formality or ceremony; casual, relaxed. ΚΠ 1791 E. Nairne Poems 66 A short, irregular and informal meal, frequently taken on journeys, to save time. 1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Informal, without ceremony. 1880 R. Grant Confessions Frivolous Girl 174 That word informal is one of the deadliest foes to higher civilization. It is only a synonyme for free-and-easy. 1883 Harper's Mag. Oct. 652/1 His breakfast was a very informal meal. 1912 E. Ferber Frog & Puddle in Buttered Side Down i. 12 I've lived here six months and I'm not on informal terms with anybody except Teddy, the landlady's dog. 1954 R. Jarrell Pictures from Inst. i. 4 He was a nice-looking and informal and unassuming man. 1972 K. Lo Chinese Food i. 50 There are no pubs or bars and most of the informal leisurely drinking takes place in tea-houses. 2004 Holiday Which? Winter 60/2 Eating out in Brittany is often more informal than elsewhere in France. b. Designating the vocabulary, idiom, and grammatical structures suitable to everyday language and conversation rather than to official or formal contexts. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > a language > register > [adjective] > colloquial vulgar1677 idiomatic1712 colloquial1752 informal1832 demotic1872 1832 Times 21 Dec. 3 Had the London juries..been as inexperienced as those of France, their verdict would have been couched most probably in the same informal language. 1845 S. Judd Margaret ii. ii. 226 Language has its rules as well as that whereto it applies. Informal language on formal subjects is altogether contrary to Logic. 1925 G. P. Krapp Eng. Lang. in Amer. I. v. 296 The informal or local speech will often seem more penetrating, more genuine than the standard speech. 1954 Amer. Q. 6 195 (note) The informal grammar and free style of punctuation that Bellamy used in his private writings are carried here with little attempt at editing. 1994 Appl. Linguistics 15 269 Writing activities required the production of letters and invitations using formal and informal registers. 2003 M. Abley Spoken Here ii. 39 Australia's brand of whitefella language sounds relaxed and informal to most English speakers elsewhere. But to many Aborigines it reeks of snobbishness. c. Of dress: casual; suitable for everyday wear. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > for specific purpose > informal wear informal1883 easy-breezy1891 schleppy1966 1883 Syracuse (N.Y.) Standard 2 July 4/7 (advt.) Many styles of business suits for Men and Boys, many of them such as are worn for informal dress suits. 1955 Househ. Guide & Almanac (News of World) 197/2 When you are told that dress is ‘informal’ you can wear a silk afternoon or cocktail dress and your escort would put on a lounge suit. 1992 N.Y. Times Mag. 26 Jan. 50/1 Everyone wanted to dress down. The guys wore very informal clothes. 2003 Glasgow Herald (Nexis) 23 Aug. 21 Dress code informal—no penguin suits. 4. Theology. Of faith: not formed or animated by charity (charity n. 1). Now rare. Cf. inform adj.¹ 1a, informed adj.² 1. ΘΚΠ society > faith > aspects of faith > [adjective] > inform informeda1530 inform faith1546 informal1813 1813 J. Allen tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. II. iii. ii. 19 First, we must refute the nugatory distinction, which prevails in the schools, of formal and informal faith. 1828 K. H. Digby Broad Stone of Honour: Tancredus xviii. 323 That which Lewis Grenadensis calls the living faith, that which is joined with love, in opposition to the informal or dead faith which is without love. 1951 Church Hist. 20 61 Speculative knowledge, including ‘historical’ faith (the practical equivalent of the Catholic ‘informal’ faith), belongs to the understanding alone. Compounds informal settlement n. chiefly South African an unplanned and unregulated urban settlement erected on land not officially proclaimed as a residential area. ΚΠ 1979 H. A. Anthony Challenge of Squatter Settlem. i. 3 The United Nations prefers to refer to them as informal settlements or as spontaneous settlements; somehow these words sound better than squatter settlements, a term that automatically carries with it prejudicial legal connotations. 1983 E. J. Haarhoff Shelter in Informal Settlem. i. 1 Informal settlements may be illegal in the sense that the land occupation and/or dwelling does not conform to defined standards and procedures. 2007 Baltimore Sun (Nexis) 16 Dec. 23 a Diepsloot began as a temporary ‘informal settlement’, but with South Africa's dire housing shortage and poverty, it has taken on a rickety, squalid permanence. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adj.a1460
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