The phrase "a formal term" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when referring to a specific word or phrase that is recognized as official or standard in a particular field or context.
Example: "In legal documents, 'plaintiff' is a formal term used to describe the person who brings a case against another in a court of law."
Alternatives: "an official term" or "a technical term".
Instant processing has been discussed in the health care industry long enough that it has acquired a formal term: "real-time claims adjudication".
Mr Netanyahu is hesitant about granting Palestinian requests for a formal "term of reference" acknowledging some of the most crucial issues, such as Jerusalem.
The new mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, prompted some criticism recently when he used a formal term for "you all," primarily used in Spain, rather than the version used in Mexico.
"We never really had a formal term, I think that's a reasonable portmanteau," said a person familiar with the matter.
I can't remember whether there is a formal term for reflect the question back on the person who has asked it.
Sup 12 I can't remember whether there is a formal term for reflect the question back on the person who has asked it.
^Includes paid or stipendiary lay staff with a formal terms of reference; does not include ad hoc voluntary lay staff.
In the next two hours, as Mr. bin Laden sipped tea and munched on olives and bread, the reporter got his big scoop: Mr. bin Laden claimed to possess nuclear arms but would use them only -- and here he or his interpreter chose a strangely formal term -- as a "deterrent".
It may sound like a very formal term, but 21st Century Learning blends well with kids' innate tendencies for collaborative play and learning.
The philosopher Josiah Royce, whom Miles does not mention, labored at a theodicy — the formal term for the justification of God's tolerance of evil — holding thatwhen we suffer God suffers, too.
In the hierarchy of train lovers, I was at least a train buff and maybe even a "rail fan," which is the formal term for the ultimate obsessive.
