Meaning & use
formal notice
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable or uncountableformal
An official written announcement that tells someone about a decision, demand or upcoming action, often required by a contract or law.
Grammar: Usually uncountable after give or receive; countable when meaning a document: a formal notice arrived.
Patterns
- give someone formal notice of something
- serve formal notice on someone
The landlord gave us formal notice that the rent would rise in March.
You must send formal notice before ending the contract.
A formal notice was posted on the factory gate.
noununcountableformalfigurative
A public statement that a plan or intention is officially announced, even when it is not a document.
Grammar: Often in the phrase serve formal notice of something.
Patterns
- serve formal notice that something
The minister served formal notice that the policy would change.
With that win, the young team served formal notice that it was a rival.
The union served formal notice of a strike.
Word forms
| plural | formal notices |
|---|
Common combinations
- give formal notice
- She gave formal notice to her employer.
- receive formal notice
- We received formal notice of the hearing.
- serve formal notice
- The council served formal notice on the owner.
- written formal notice
- Written formal notice is required to end the lease.
Synonyms and how they differ
- official notification
- Official notification is wordier and puts more focus on the act of informing than on the paper itself.
- warning
- A warning suggests a threat of consequences, while formal notice may simply inform.
- announcement
- An announcement can be spoken or casual, but formal notice has legal or official weight.
Opposites
Word family
- notice noun
- information or warning given beforehand
- notify verb
- to officially tell someone
- notification noun
- an act or message of informing
- formally adverb
- in an official way
Commonly confused: formal notice or formal?
formal notice vs formal
Formal as an adjective means official or serious; don't mix it with 'former', meaning earlier.
Practice
Before the company could close the account, it had to send the customer ___ in writing.
Choose one answer.
Legal or contract steps require formal notice, an official written message. A remark or hint is too informal.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “formal notice”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.