The phrase "a certain formality" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when referring to a specific level of seriousness or adherence to established procedures in a situation.
Example: "During the meeting, there was a certain formality that made everyone feel the importance of the discussion."
Alternatives: "a degree of formality" or "some level of formality".
4. Ipanema + (212) 730-5848 13 West 46th Street $ All major cards Ipanema is not a formal restaurant, although there is a certain formality to its appearance: a polished wood floor, beige walls, vases of dried flowers in wall niches and lighting so dim it is impossible to make out any of the small artworks on the wall.
There's a certain formality to it".
"I like posed pictures, with a certain formality," Mr. Zhou said.
Behind a certain formality, he was a man of great kindness and intense loyalty.
The clothes had a certain formality offset with a sense of relaxed sophistication.
He spoke with a certain formality, as though to assert the dignity of his office, showing only glimpses of the antic humor he had displayed onstage.
A certain aesthetic formality necessarily accompanied such excess.
We sought a certain romantic formality in what has become an informal and wholly nonromantic world.
At the same time, Mr. Schechter said, the Business Corporation Law permits the board to revoke a contract between the co-op corporation and a company in which one of the co-op board members is a director or officer, or holds a substantial financial interest, unless certain formalities are followed.
By contrast, in civil law a contract to make a gift is valid if it is accompanied by certain formalities and if it does not violate the expectancies that the close relatives of the donor have in the property.
As a form of express trust, charitable trusts are subject to certain formalities, as well as the requirements of the three certainties, when being created.
