ritual

American  

[rich-oo-uhl] / ˈrɪtʃ u əl /

noun

1. an established or prescribed procedure for a religious or other rite.

2. a system or collection of religious or other rites.

3. observance of set forms in public worship.

4. a book of rites or ceremonies.

5. a book containing the offices to be used by priests in administering the sacraments and for visitation of the sick, burial of the dead, etc.

6. a prescribed or established rite, ceremony, proceeding, or service.

   the ritual of the dead.

7. prescribed, established, or ceremonial acts or features collectively, as in religious services.

8. any practice or pattern of behavior regularly performed in a set manner.

9. a prescribed code of behavior regulating social conduct, as that exemplified by the raising of one's hat or the shaking of hands in greeting.

10. Psychiatry. a specific act, as hand-washing, performed repetitively to a pathological degree, occurring as a common symptom of obsessive-compulsive neurosis.

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adjective

1. of the nature of or practiced as a rite or ritual.

   a ritual dance.

   Synonyms:

   sacramental, formal, ceremonial

2. of or relating to rites or ritual.

   ritual laws.

ritual British  

/ ˈrɪtjʊəl /

noun

1. the prescribed or established form of a religious or other ceremony

2. such prescribed forms in general or collectively

3. stereotyped activity or behaviour

4. psychol any repetitive behaviour, such as hand-washing, performed by a person with a compulsive personality disorder

5. any formal act, institution, or procedure that is followed consistently

   the ritual of the law

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of religious, social, or other rituals

Related Words

See ceremony.

Other Word Forms

• antiritual adjective
• proritual adjective
• ritually adverb
• unritual adjective
• unritually adverb

Etymology

Origin of ritual

First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin rītuālis, from rītu(s) rite + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

In Egypt, then in Roman hands, this meant a ban on pagan rituals and the end, in effect, of Ancient Egyptian civilization.

From The Wall Street Journal

Producers say the ritual has surpassed six billion views.

From Los Angeles Times

Now, Ali performs "wudu" -- the Islamic cleansing ritual -- before every drive, in the hope of divine protection.

From Barron's

Or go homemade and make it a little ritual.

From Salon

Now, humankind’s oldest number-crunch ritual is teaming up with the newest, most powerful calculator yet.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• act
• custom
• formality
• habit
• liturgy
• observance
• practice
• procedure
• rite
• routine
• stereotype