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
When it comes to placing calls, write down a couple of thoughts or questions to get you started, and ritualize the experience.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 10, 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
We can ritualize our sorrows, but not turn them into tragedies.
From Ancient Art and Ritual by Harrison, Jane Ellen
"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
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
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.
