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
Not a church-goer, O’Daniel saw the temple as an opportunity to ritualize loss and grief.
From Salon ● May 17, 2019
Both works ritualize "Macbeth" into a stylized allegory without sacrificing any of the visceral horror.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 28, 2015
Can civilization go farther than to ritualize death as we have done?
From Rosinante to the Road Again by John Dos Passos
But another interpretation cannot be ruled out: that of an internal, perhaps ritualized, treatment of women who came from elsewhere but by then had been fully integrated into the group.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026
Like the kaleidoscopic sand mandalas constructed so devotedly by Buddhist monks—and just as ceremoniously swept away—Burning Man has been about ritualized impermanence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
The language is reflexive, ritualized, and remarkably effective.
From Slate ● Jan. 25, 2026
Choreographer Toran Xavier Moore enhances the effect with ritualized dance moves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2024
Emotions and ritualized behavior patterns are built deeply into us.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
“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.
