pro forma
adjective
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A lot of things are done for the sake of appearances. A teacher might get officially observed and evaluated every three years, even though everyone knows she's terrific and the whole thing is strictly pro forma. A critic might say that an orchestral conductor gave a pro forma performance, since his heart wasn't in it. A business owner might make a pro forma appearance at the funeral of a politician's mother, never having met her but maybe hoping for a favor from her son sometime in the future. In business, pro forma has some special meanings; a pro forma invoice, for example, will list all the items being sent but, unlike a true invoice, won't be an actual bill.
Examples of pro forma in a Sentence
Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Apr. 2025
Because of the pervasive influence of death and black metal’s dependence on themes of depression, pessimism, and negativity, and dime-store Satanism — some lyrics can seem pro forma.
—Mikal Gilmore, Rolling Stone, 30 Mar. 2025
The Senate will hold a pro forma session at noon on Thursday.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 19 Mar. 2025
My presentation had been arranged back in the fall and had already gone through NARA’s routine vetting process, usually a pro forma confirmation that affiliated programs are of high quality and based on research using the National Archives’ rich resources.
—Elaine Weiss, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pro forma
Cite this Entry
“Pro forma.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pro%20forma. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
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pro forma
adjective
Latin, for the sake of form
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