cer·e·mo·ny [ser-uh-moh-nee] (previously 05-17-13)
noun
1. the formal activities conducted on some solemn or important public or state occasion: the coronation ceremony.
2. a formal religious or sacred observance; a solemn rite: a marriage ceremony.
3. formal observances or gestures collectively; ceremonial observances: The breathless messenger had no time for ceremony.
4. any formal act or observance, especially a meaningless one: His low bow was mere ceremony.
5. a gesture or act of politeness or civility: the ceremony of a handshake.
6. strict adherence to conventional forms; formality: to leave a room without ceremony.
Idioms
7. stand on ceremony, to behave in a formal or ceremonious manner.
RELATED FORMS
pre·cer·e·mo·ny, noun, plural pre·cer·e·mo·nies.
RELATED WORDS
function, observance, parade, service, show, rite, commemoration, formality, solemnity, ordinance, sacrament, custom, liturgy, tradition, ceremonial, pomp, protocol, form, propriety, decorum
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
1, 2. Ceremony, rite, ritual refer to set observances and acts traditional in religious services or on public occasions. Ceremony applies to more or less formal dignified acts on religious or public occasions: a marriage ceremony; an inaugural ceremony. A rite is an established, prescribed, or customary form of religious or other solemn practice: the rite of baptism. Ritual refers to the form of conducting worship or to a code of ceremonies in general: Masonic rituals.
Origin: 1350–1400; Middle English ceremonie < Medieval Latin ceremonia, Latin caerimonia sacred rite; replacing Middle English cerymonye < Middle French cerimonie < Latin, as above
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