formulate

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for·mu·late

(fôr′myə-lāt′)

tr.v. for·mu·lat·ed, for·mu·lat·ing, for·mu·lates

a. To state as or reduce to a formula.

b. To express in systematic terms or concepts.

c. To devise or invent: formulate strategy.

2. To prepare according to a specified formula.

for′mu·la′tion n.

for′mu·la′tor n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

formulate

(ˈfɔːmjʊˌleɪt)

vb (tr)

1. to put into or express in systematic terms; express in or as if in a formula

2. to devise

ˈformuˌlator n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

for•mu•late

(ˈfɔr myəˌleɪt)

v.t. -lat•ed, -lat•ing.

1. to express in precise form; state definitely or systematically; to formulate a theory.

2. to devise or develop, as a method or system.

3. to reduce to or express in a formula.

[1855–60]

for•mu•la•ble (ˈfɔr myə lə bəl) adj.

for`mu•la′tion, n.

for′mu•la`tor, n.

formulate

- Can mean "reduce to a formula."

formulate

Past participle: formulated
Gerund: formulating

Imperative
formulate
formulate

Present
I formulate
you formulate
he/she/it formulates
we formulate
you formulate
they formulate

Preterite
I formulated
you formulated
he/she/it formulated
we formulated
you formulated
they formulated

Present Continuous
I am formulating
you are formulating
he/she/it is formulating
we are formulating
you are formulating
they are formulating

Present Perfect
I have formulated
you have formulated
he/she/it has formulated
we have formulated
you have formulated
they have formulated

Past Continuous
I was formulating
you were formulating
he/she/it was formulating
we were formulating
you were formulating
they were formulating

Past Perfect
I had formulated
you had formulated
he/she/it had formulated
we had formulated
you had formulated
they had formulated

Future
I will formulate
you will formulate
he/she/it will formulate
we will formulate
you will formulate
they will formulate

Future Perfect
I will have formulated
you will have formulated
he/she/it will have formulated
we will have formulated
you will have formulated
they will have formulated

Future Continuous
I will be formulating
you will be formulating
he/she/it will be formulating
we will be formulating
you will be formulating
they will be formulating

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been formulating
you have been formulating
he/she/it has been formulating
we have been formulating
you have been formulating
they have been formulating

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been formulating
you will have been formulating
he/she/it will have been formulating
we will have been formulating
you will have been formulating
they will have been formulating

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been formulating
you had been formulating
he/she/it had been formulating
we had been formulating
you had been formulating
they had been formulating

Conditional
I would formulate
you would formulate
he/she/it would formulate
we would formulate
you would formulate
they would formulate

Past Conditional
I would have formulated
you would have formulated
he/she/it would have formulated
we would have formulated
you would have formulated
they would have formulated

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb	1.	formulate - elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses; "Could you develop the ideas in your thesis" explicate, develop develop - elaborate by the unfolding of a musical idea and by the working out of the rhythmic and harmonic changes in the theme; "develop the melody and change the key" develop, evolve, acquire - gain through experience; "I acquired a strong aversion to television"; "Children must develop a sense of right and wrong"; "Dave developed leadership qualities in his new position"; "develop a passion for painting" hypothesise, hypothesize, speculate, conjecture, theorise, theorize, hypothecate, suppose - to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds; "Scientists supposed that large dinosaurs lived in swamps" mature - develop and work out fully in one's mind; "I need to mature my thoughts" reformulate, redevelop - formulate or develop again, of an improved theory or hypothesis
	2.	formulate - come up with (an idea, plan, explanation, theory, or principle) after a mental effort; "excogitate a way to measure the speed of light" devise, excogitate, invent, contrive, forge create by mental act, create mentally - create mentally and abstractly rather than with one's hands
	3.	formulate - put into words or an expression; "He formulated his concerns to the board of trustees" give voice, phrase, word, articulate ask - direct or put; seek an answer to; "ask a question" evince, express, show - give expression to; "She showed her disappointment" lexicalise, lexicalize - make or coin into a word or accept a new word into the lexicon of a language; "The concept expressed by German `Gemuetlichkeit' is not lexicalized in English" dogmatise, dogmatize - state as a dogma formularise, formularize - express as a formula couch, redact, put, frame, cast - formulate in a particular style or language; "I wouldn't put it that way"; "She cast her request in very polite language"
	4.	formulate - prepare according to a formula chemical science, chemistry - the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions create from raw material, create from raw stuff - make from scratch

formulate

verb

1. devise, plan, develop, prepare, work out, invent, evolve, coin, forge, draw up, originate, map out He formulated his plan for escape.

2. express, detail, frame, define, specify, articulate, set down, codify, put into words, systematize, particularize, give form to I was impressed by how he formulated his ideas.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

formulate

verb

1. To convey in language or words of a particular form:

couch, express, phrase, put, word.

2. To devise and set down:

draft, draw up, frame.

3. To form a strategy for:

blueprint, cast, chart, conceive, contrive, design, devise, frame, lay, plan, project, scheme, strategize, work out.

Informal: dope out.

Idiom: lay plans.

4. To use ingenuity in making, developing, or achieving:

concoct, contrive, devise, dream up, fabricate, hatch, invent, make up, think up.

Informal: cook up.

Idiom: come up with.

Translations

formuler

formulare

сформулировать

formulate

[ˈfɔːmjʊleɪt] VT [+ theory, policy] → formular

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

formulate

[ˈfɔː^rmjʊleɪt] vt [+ idea] → formuler; [+ plan] → élaborer

formulate

vt → formulieren

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

formulate

[ˈfɔːmjʊˌleɪt] vt → formulare

References in classic literature ?

My ardor for Shakespeare must have been at its height when I was between sixteen and seventeen years old, for I fancy when I began to formulate my admiration, and to try to measure his greatness in phrases, I was less simply impassioned than at some earlier time.

View in context

He was trying to formulate a theory that he had always unconsciously held, that all sisters, excepting his own, could advisedly be ruined.

View in context

Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms.

View in context

Generally, it was a brief Greek or Roman device, such as the Middle Ages knew so well how to formulate.-- Unde?

View in context

We can, I think, formulate the known laws of such phenomena in terms, wholly, of observable facts, by recognizing provisionally what we may call "mnemic causation." By this I mean that kind of causation of which I spoke at the beginning of this lecture, that kind, namely, in which the proximate cause consists not merely of a present event, but of this together with a past event.

Semon formulates two "mnemic principles." The first, or "Law of Engraphy," is as follows: "All simultaneous excitements in an organism form a connected simultaneous excitement-complex, which as such works engraphically, i.e.

View in context

The respite my unexpected agility had given me permitted me to formulate plans for the immediate future and to note more closely the appearance of the warriors, for I could not disassociate these people in my mind from those other warriors who, only the day before, had been pursuing me.

View in context

A proof of her weakness lay in the very utterance of what calm strength would not have taken the trouble to formulate. Every sound of his voice beginning on the old subject stirred her with a terrifying bliss, and she coveted the recantation she feared.

View in context

He did not formulate the law in clear, set terms and moralise about it.

View in context

The sole PAS assemblyman in Penang today called on the state government to formulate a new legislation to prevent the spread of non-Muslim religions to Muslims.

PAS assemblyman urges Penang govt to have law to curb spread of non-Muslim religions to Muslims

Speaking to the media following CII two-day meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday, he said the task force will be formed to formulate the comprehensive plan for the creation of Medina like state.

Body formed to outline attributes of Madina Riyasat model: CII

Summary: Islamabad [Pakistan], October 25 (ANI): Pakistan Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal has announced plans to formulate a framework to monitor the social media.