ceremony
the formal activities conducted on some solemn or important public or state occasion: the coronation ceremony.
a formal religious or sacred observance; a solemn rite: a marriage ceremony.
formal observances or gestures collectively; ceremonial observances: The breathless messenger had no time for ceremony.
any formal act or observance, especially a meaningless one: His low bow was mere ceremony.
a gesture or act of politeness or civility: the ceremony of a handshake.
strict adherence to conventional forms; formality: to leave a room without ceremony.
Idioms about ceremony
stand on ceremony, to behave in a formal or ceremonious manner.
Origin of ceremony
1synonym study For ceremony
Other words from ceremony
- pre·cer·e·mo·ny, noun, plural pre·cer·e·mo·nies.
Words Nearby ceremony
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use ceremony in a sentence
The coronavirus had already altered the ceremony for Football Bowl Subdivision teams this past fall.
For this college football team, covid means the season starts in February — with Senior Day | Glynn A. Hill | February 11, 2021 | Washington PostOnce the dangers from the coronavirus pass and we can resume a semblance of our normal lives, I will be performing a cousin's wedding ceremony.
Miss Manners: Declining help from the unmasked | Judith Martin, Nicholas Martin, Jacobina Martin | February 8, 2021 | Washington PostThe Weeknd accused the Recording Academy of being “corrupt,” and an unidentified source told Rolling Stone that his team had been given an ultimatum over his performing at the Super Bowl in proximity to the originally scheduled Grammys ceremony.
You don’t have to choose a particular type of dress or a particular type of ceremony.
About 80 to 100 members of Congress also were gathered in the Capitol Rotunda for the ceremony, with more filing in afterward to pay their respects to Sicknick.
House to vote on removing GOP’s Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committees | Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner, Colby Itkowitz | February 4, 2021 | Washington Post
Students moan and growl and shriek and yawp, as if exorcising demons in a ritualistic ceremony.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze | Lizzie Crocker | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe ceremony ended with a singing of “God Bless America,” with some of those in the stands as well as de Blasio singing along.
Her mother made demands about a big ceremony and caused a rift between them.
A Sunni-Shia Love Story Imperiled by al Qaeda | Ruth Michaelson | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhen he is awarded Player of the Match while competing for India in England, he is given champagne at the ceremony.
The Story of the World’s Greatest Cricket Player | William O’Connor | December 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe had a special knife designed to cut the dense loaf, and a ceremony to precede cutting the cake.
One Cake to Rule Them All: How Stollen Stole Our Hearts | Molly Hannon | December 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe conducts this ceremony with the greatest solemnity, occasionally pronouncing these incantatory words, "Plate or shell, sah?"
Physiology of The Opera | John H. Swaby (AKA "Scrici")Hedges had to go on his way also, for it was close upon the countess-dowager's dinner-hour, at which ceremony he must attend.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodNo sooner was the ceremony over than the wicked count ordered her to present herself at the castle.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsIt is impossible to describe the thrilling effect produced by this striking ceremony.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2) | Charles DickensThe captain begged permission to accompany us on shore; this was immediately granted, and the whole ceremony was completed.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida Pfeiffer
British Dictionary definitions for ceremony
/ (ˈsɛrɪmənɪ) /
a formal act or ritual, often set by custom or tradition, performed in observation of an event or anniversary: a ceremony commemorating Shakespeare's birth
a religious rite or series of rites
a courteous gesture or act: the ceremony of toasting the Queen
ceremonial observances or gestures collectively: the ceremony of a monarchy
stand on ceremony to insist on or act with excessive formality
without ceremony in a casual or informal manner
Origin of ceremony
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with ceremony
see stand on (ceremony).
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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