How to Use formulaic in a Sentence

formulaic

adjective
  • As such, they have been called formulaic.
    — Laura Payne, Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 June 2026
  • The genre’s formulaic beats are, for the most part, hit with a modicum of savvy smarts.
    — Courtney Howard, Variety, 9 Feb. 2023
  • And even a film that could easily be quite formulaic is not at all.
    — Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2024
  • The plot is a bit formulaic, but the fashion…so deeply ’80s, and yet so good.
    — Emma Specter, Vogue, 18 Aug. 2024
  • Critics said his plots were formulaic and his style overwrought.
    — Bill Trott, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
  • In a bid to score a breakout hit, many songwriters are risk averse and formulaic.
    — Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 July 2021
  • The book also does well to skirt the tropes and formulaic methods of thriller writing.
    — Seth Combs, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 July 2023
  • Too much of what gets built today in our cities is formulaic, just good enough to be approved and get financed.
    — John King, SFChronicle.com, 15 Sep. 2020
  • But point being, a network sitcom is much more formulaic at this point.
    — Dana Taylor, USA TODAY, 19 July 2024
  • So familiar, that at times Bonds' script can't help but feel a bit formulaic.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 17 Mar. 2023
  • Here, hotels can’t just scrape by with formulaic concepts.
    — Su-Jit Lin, Southern Living, 27 Dec. 2025
  • The point is not to be lifelike or fact-based but familiar and formulaic—in a word, predictable.
    — Namwali Serpell, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2025
  • Pop is a highly formulaic art, and some amount of copying is pretty much inevitable.
    — Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2024
  • That combination could give the rom-com a feel that stands apart from more formulaic entries in the genre.
    — Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Like the language in which it was given, the ritual was formulaic, even staid.
    — Katie Thornton, Harpers Magazine, 26 May 2026
  • But designer Maya Williams tells me the days of the formulaic kitchen are over.
    — Amanda Lauren, Forbes.com, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Craft unique, non-formulaic hooks to grab attention.
    — Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 27 June 2026
  • An entertaining read, though the plots of the books in the series have become a bit formulaic.
    — Barbara Ellis, Denver Post, 6 July 2025
  • The book is much more than a formulaic, playful rom-com despite the marketing and the fairy tale font on the book cover.
    — Seth Combs, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2024
  • The music is heavy-footed and formulaic.
    — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
  • The machine was primed to churn me into a formulaic superstar.
    — Mike Sacks, The New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2023
  • More crucially, everything to do with the onboard alien is far too cute and formulaic.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 10 Mar. 2026
  • Schweighöfer does have a memorable screen presence, and this film is well made, as formulaic pictures so often are.
    — Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2021
  • Yet the end is not so formulaic; as the plot evolves, an unforeseen transformation takes place.
    — Paul Sedan, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Jan. 2021
  • Well, people have always written schlocky or formulaic books.
    — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 10 June 2026
  • For all of his complaints about formulaic, this trends toward the positive side of his signature rap style and sound.
    — Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 10 Jan. 2025
  • But the more formulaic education becomes, the worse the outcomes seem to be.
    — Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 27 Feb. 2025
  • Like many biopics, the movie was considered a formulaic, simplified version of the truth.
    — Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 14 Aug. 2023
  • Job listings have become so formulaic that even strong candidates scroll past them without a second look.
    — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 23 June 2026
  • What the unpaid toll scam texts look like Scam texts are often formulaic in nature with some variations.
    — Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 12 Mar. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'formulaic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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