dear vs formal

dear

adj
  • A formal way to start (often after my) addressing somebody one likes or regards kindly. 

  • A formal way to start (possibly after my) addressing somebody at the beginning of a letter, memo etc. 

  • Loving, affectionate, heartfelt 

  • Loved; lovable. 

  • Precious to or greatly valued by someone. 

  • An ironic way to start (often after my) addressing an inferior. 

  • Lovely; kind. 

  • High in price; expensive. 

  • Severe, or severely affected; sore. 

adv
  • Dearly; at a high price. 

noun
  • An affectionate, familiar term of address, such as used between husband and wife. 

  • A beloved person. 

  • A very kind, loving person. 

  • An elderly person, especially a woman. 

formal

adj
  • Proper, according to strict etiquette; not casual. 

  • Official. 

  • Relating to mere manipulation and construction of strings of symbols, without regard to their meaning. 

  • Relating to formation. 

  • Organized; well-structured and planned. 

  • Being in accord with established forms. 

  • Relating to the form or structure of something. 

  • Ceremonial or traditional. 

noun
  • An event with a formal dress code. 

  • Formalin. 

  • A formal parameter. 

  • An evening gown. 

  • An acetal formed from formaldehyde. 

How often have the words dear and formal occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )