ritual
observance of set forms in public worship.
a book of rites or ceremonies.
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.
a prescribed or established rite, ceremony, proceeding, or service: the ritual of the dead.
prescribed, established, or ceremonial acts or features collectively, as in religious services.
any practice or pattern of behavior regularly performed in a set manner.
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.
Psychiatry. a specific act, as hand-washing, performed repetitively to a pathological degree, occurring as a common symptom of obsessive-compulsive neurosis.
of the nature of or practiced as a rite or ritual: a ritual dance.
of or relating to rites or ritual: ritual laws.
Origin of ritual
1synonym study For ritual
Other words for ritual
Other words from ritual
- rit·u·al·ly, adverb
- an·ti·rit·u·al, adjective
- pro·rit·u·al, adjective
- un·rit·u·al, adjective
- un·rit·u·al·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use ritual in a sentence
The worship of some of these deities appears to have included orgiastic rituals: music, wine, sex.
YouTube videos of Masters performing such rituals can be found here, here and here.
Some streams of Buddhism have the trappings of worship, rituals, and semi-divine beings, but others do not.
Grown in the jungle by the indigenous Kichwa, guayusa (gwhy-you-sa) is a sacred leaf used in ceremonial rituals.
Bye Bye Latté, Hello Guayusa: Why The Amazon Holds the Secret to a Cleaner, Healthier Caffeine | Brandon Presser | August 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe room was full of dozens of urns, each full of olive oil, used in some of the Yezidi rituals.
Fighting Back With Faith: Inside the Yezidis’ Iraqi Temple | Michael Luongo | August 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
More especially, no such individual has ever called at his house, much less copied any rituals of which he may be in possession.
Devil-Worship in France | Arthur Edward WaiteI am of course thoroughly familiar with these war chants, rituals, etc.
Zui Fetiches | Frank Hamilton CushingIn this character they are exhorted with elaborate prayers, rituals, and ceremonials.
Zui Fetiches | Frank Hamilton CushingLeaves and twigs of cedar were burned as incense in ceremonial rituals in order that evil influences might be driven away.
Prairie Smoke (Second Edition, Revised) | Melvin Randolph GilmoreIt was five hundred years ago that the religion of Argo in Leptar purged all her rituals and instituted new ones.
The Jewels of Aptor | Samuel R. Delany
British Dictionary definitions for ritual
/ (ˈrɪtjʊəl) /
the prescribed or established form of a religious or other ceremony
such prescribed forms in general or collectively
stereotyped activity or behaviour
psychol any repetitive behaviour, such as hand-washing, performed by a person with a compulsive personality disorder
any formal act, institution, or procedure that is followed consistently: the ritual of the law
of, relating to, or characteristic of religious, social, or other rituals
Origin of ritual
1Derived forms of ritual
- ritually, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse