ceremonial

American  

[ser-uh-moh-nee-uhl] / ˌsɛr əˈmoʊ ni əl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characterized by ceremony; formal; ritual.

   a ceremonial occasion.

   Synonyms:

   ceremonious, conventional, solemn

   Antonyms:

   informal

2. used in or in connection with ceremonies.

   ceremonial robes.

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noun

• ceremonials
  plural

1. a system of ceremonies, rites, or formalities prescribed for or observed on any particular occasion; a rite.

   Synonyms:

   liturgy, ritual

2. Roman Catholic Church.

   1. the order for rites and ceremonies.

   2. a book containing it.

3. formal behavior found at, or appropriate to, a certain occasion.

   the ceremonial of a state banquet.

ceremonial British  

/ ˌsɛrɪˈməʊnɪəl /

adjective

1. involving or relating to ceremony or ritual

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noun

1. the observance of formality, esp in etiquette

2. a plan for formal observances on a particular occasion; ritual

3. Christianity

   1. the prescribed order of rites and ceremonies

   2. a book containing this

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• anticeremonialism
  noun
• anticeremonialist
  noun
• ceremonialism
  noun
• ceremonialist
  noun
• anticeremonial
  adjective
• nonceremonial
  adjective
• preceremonial
  adjective
• unceremonial
  adjective
• anticeremonially
  adverb
• ceremonially
  adverb
• nonceremonially
  adverb
• unceremonially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ceremonials
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ceremonial

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin cēremōniālis, Late Latin caerimōniālis. See ceremony, -al ¹

Explanation

When an occasion is extremely formal and full of rituals, you can call it ceremonial. Your cousin's fancy wedding and your friend's bar mitzvah are both ceremonial events. The ritual of a new queen being crowned is ceremonial, with its pomp and formality. The way your family celebrates Thanksgiving might feel ceremonial to you as well, if everyone takes it very seriously and sticks to firm rules about what food to eat and who carves the turkey. Ceremonial originally described a purely religious ritual, from the Latin caerimonia, "holiness or sacredness."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ceremonial ceremonials

Another band carries the flower procession, ceremonial now but no less insistent.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026

Elsewhere, dogs became important participants in religious and ceremonial traditions.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

Mourners dressed in black gathered on Sunday in the pavilion of Wat Lat Pla Duk in Nonthaburi province, bordering Bangkok, where the body of the slain schoolgirl, Naphat Chaima, lay for a ceremonial bath.

From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026

The puzzle only deepened with the discovery in recent years of six more ceremonial pits full of shattered artifacts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

He picked up a fragment of fallen plaster and drew dusty white stripes across the backs of his hands, the way ceremonial dancers sometimes did, except they used white clay, and not old plaster.

From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko

Then, Scorsese and the film’s stars — Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio — started coming to the ceremonials, and George was struck by how attentive they were.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2024

The ceremonials were the same, and we filed into the Council Chamber a little before four in the afternoon.

From Nature ● Dec. 18, 2018

We climbed and explored Acoma and Bandelier, Mesa Verde, went to Indian dances and ceremonials and powwows.

From The New Yorker ● Jul. 28, 2016

The pattern of storms and ceremonials, of private emotion and public ritual, was established at the outset.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 23, 2010

She glows in her ceremonials, looking more like an empress than a Blood Shrike.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

Related Words

• liturgical
• solemn
• stately