Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Conforming to the rules of grammar or usage accepted by native speakers: A word, phrase, or sentence that is correctly structured according to the established grammatical rules of a language.
   • Properly or correctly formed: Having a correct, logical, or acceptable structure.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The student wrote a well-formed sentence using the new vocabulary.
  • A well-formed argument is clear and easy to follow.
  • The parser checks if the computer code is well-formed before executing it.

Advanced Usage

• In Linguistics and Computing: The term is frequently used in technical contexts.
  • In linguistics, it describes utterances that are grammatically correct.

    • Chomsky's theory distinguishes between well-formed and ill-formed syntactic structures.
  • In computer science (e.g., XML, HTML), it describes data that follows all the syntax rules.

    • A well-formed XML document must have a single root element and properly nested tags.

Variants and Related Words

• Ill-formed (adj): The opposite of well-formed; not conforming to grammatical or structural rules.
  • The program returned an error due to ill-formed input.
• Grammatical (adj): Related in meaning, specifically concerning grammar.
• Syntax (n): The set of rules that defines the structure of well-formed sentences in a language.

Synonyms

• Grammatical
• Correct
• Proper
• Valid (especially in computing contexts)

Antonyms

• Ill-formed
• Ungrammatical
• Incorrect

Related Phrases and Concepts

• Well-formedness (n): The quality or state of being well-formed.
  • The well-formedness of the statement was verified by the editor.
• Well-formed formula (WFF): A specific term in logic and mathematics for a correctly constructed expression.
  • In propositional logic, 'P ∧ Q' is a well-formed formula.

Adjective

1. conforming to the rules of grammar or usage accepted by native speakers
   • spoke in grammatical sentences