verb
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(intr) to engage in ritualism or devise rituals
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(tr) to make (something) into a ritual
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ritualize
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:
The nails also symbolize self-expression and the small acts of personal upkeep that many people rely on — or ritualize — in order to persevere on a daily basis.
From New York Times ● Oct. 26, 2021
Leeah Joo’s luxuriantly painted Western-style oils depict bundles wrapped in traditional Korean fabrics, and Kyoung eun Kang’s performance videos ritualize being a transplant to New York City.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 30, 2021
Professor, activist and author Maulana Karenga would ritualize and sacralize the cultural and moral underpinnings of these practices in the seven principles of Kwanzaa.
From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2019
Both works ritualize "Macbeth" into a stylized allegory without sacrificing any of the visceral horror.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 28, 2015
We ritualize it—we bow, we take off our hats, we shake hands, we rise when a lady enters.
From Christianity and Progress by Harry Emerson Fosdick
"But it also points to a deeper cultural significance, suggesting people recognized the exceptional power of this fertilizer and actively celebrated, protected and even ritualized the vital relationship between seabirds and agriculture."
From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026
The language is reflexive, ritualized, and remarkably effective.
From Slate ● Jan. 25, 2026
We move in a familiar loop: outrage at dysfunction, ritualized critique, then a quiet hope that the same brittle systems will somehow stabilize themselves when the stakes get high.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2026
We tolerate misallocation because we are purchasing something other than objects: reassurance, attention, belonging—a ritualized way of saying you matter to me and I am willing to incur a cost to prove it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
An ultimatum accepted and ritualized, an allegiance recited for the peace it imparted, and for that perhaps loved.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
“The Book of Birds” is, like poetry, a form of memory, recovery and ritualizing delight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Religion is the most obvious construction for ritualizing meaning.
From Washington Post ● May 15, 2020
This Brooklyn-based choreographer, originally from Uruguay, presents the premiere of “Brujx,” in which she continues her investigation of dance as a healing art by ritualizing the labor of her dancers.
From New York Times ● Oct. 18, 2018
The two groups then played a trust game, and Inzlicht found that the ritualizing “reds” distrusted the nonritualizing outgroup much more than they had before.
From Time ● Jan. 13, 2015
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
