ceremony
Americannoun
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ceremonies
plural
-
the formal activities conducted on some solemn or important public or state occasion.
the coronation ceremony.
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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.
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any formal act or observance, especially a meaningless one.
His low bow was mere ceremony.
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a gesture or act of politeness or civility.
the ceremony of a handshake.
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strict adherence to conventional forms; formality.
to leave a room without ceremony.
idioms
noun
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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
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a religious rite or series of rites
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a courteous gesture or act
the ceremony of toasting the Queen
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ceremonial observances or gestures collectively
the ceremony of a monarchy
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to insist on or act with excessive formality
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in a casual or informal manner
Synonym Usage
Ceremony, rite, ritual refer to set observances and acts traditional in religious services or on public occasions. Ceremony applies to more or less formal dignified acts on religious or public occasions: a marriage ceremony; an inaugural ceremony. A rite is an established, prescribed, or customary form of religious or other solemn practice: the rite of baptism. Ritual refers to the form of conducting worship or to a code of ceremonies in general: Masonic rituals.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of ceremony
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English ceremonie, from Medieval Latin cēremōnia, from Latin caerimōnia “sacred rite”; replacing Middle English cerymonye, from Middle French cerimonie, from Latin, as above
Explanation
A ceremony is a formal event held on special occasions such as weddings and graduations. Even if an occasion isn’t traditionally honored with a ceremony, you can hold one anyway; we know your cat’s third birthday is important. Ceremony can also refer to proper, formal behavior; someone who insists on behaving properly can be said to “stand on ceremony.” If you insist on standing up and shaking hands every time you’re introduced to someone, you're a person who stands on ceremony. If you prefer to sit back and offer a casual “Hey,” you're a person who acts “without ceremony.”
Vocabulary lists containing ceremony
Olympics Vocabulary for Champions
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A Graduation Lexicon
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Inside Out & Back Again
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Other photos published by TMZ show Amazon’s billionaire owner Jeff Bezos and wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos and Leonardo Di Caprio were among the guests present for the ceremony.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
He was not at the ceremony in Bayeux, northwest France, but sent a video message to the event.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
Speaking at a ceremony in the capital Bissau on Wednesday, Horta N'Tam called on guard members still holding weapons to hand them over as soon as possible.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
At the ceremony, hitmaker and songwriter Edgar Barrera, who grew up in the same borderland area, said that Intocable “showed the world what música mexicana could be.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
At the closing ceremony, Mr. and Mrs. Piatigorsky posed for a photograph with Spassky on one side and Fischer on the other.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Swimmers never attend opening ceremonies, Evans retorted when Billy Payne, president and chief executive of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, asked her to run the penultimate leg of the torch relay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
Created by an act of Congress and named in honor of President John F. Kennedy, the center’s white-marbled building has hosted plays, concerts, and award ceremonies since 1971.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Athlete videos were played inside the stadium before events and winners held centre-court style interviews before being escorted to a champions' enclosure, where they joined Bolt and master of ceremonies Noah Lyles.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Memorial ceremonies in New York City, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon commemorate victims of illnesses linked to the terrorist attacks and people who died in 2001.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
During ceremonies, we are solemn and respectful but always linked together, by our hands, our arms.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
