Make a friend with ceremony (8)
I believe the answer is:
formally
'make a' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'friend with ceremony' is the wordplay.
'friend' becomes 'ally' (synonyms).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'ceremony' becomes 'form' (form is a kind of ceremony).
'ally' after 'form' is 'FORMALLY'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for formally that I've seen before include "With official authorisation" , "following conventional rules" , "According to the rules" , "Officially" , "in precise terms" .)