Definitions for ritual
ˈrɪtʃ u əlrit·u·al

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.6 / 5 votes

1. ritual, ritenoun

   any customary observance or practice

2. ritualnoun

   the prescribed procedure for conducting religious ceremonies

3. ritualadjective

   stereotyped behavior

4. ritualadjective

   of or relating to or characteristic of religious rituals

   "ritual killing"

5. ritualadjective

   of or relating to or employed in social rites or rituals

   "a ritual dance of Haiti"; "sedate little colonial tribe with its ritual tea parties"- Nadine Gordimer

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ritualnoun

   rite; a repeated set of actions

   They carried out the ritual carefully.

2. ritualadjective

   Related to a rite or repeated set of actions.

   They performed the ritual lighting of the candles.

3. Etymology: From adjective ritualis, from noun rituum, rite, + adjective suffix -alis.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Ritualadjective

   Solemnly ceremonious; done according to some religious institution.

   Etymology: rituel, Fr.

   Instant I bade the priests prepare
   The ritual sacrifice, and solemn pray’r. Matthew Prior.

   If to tradition were added, certain constant ritual and emblematical observances, as the emblems were expressive, the memory of the thing recorded would remain. Duncan Forbes.

2. Ritualnoun

   A book in which the rites and observances of religion are set down.

   Etymology: from the adj.

   An heathen ritual could not instruct a man better than these several pieces of antiquity in the particular ceremonies, that attended different sacrifices. Joseph Addison, Remarks on Italy.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Ritual

   A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, but not defined, by formalism, traditionalism, invariance, rule-governance, sacral symbolism, and performance.Rituals are a feature of all known human societies. They include not only the worship rites and sacraments of organized religions and cults, but also rites of passage, atonement and purification rites, oaths of allegiance, dedication ceremonies, coronations and presidential inaugurations, marriages, funerals and more. Even common actions like hand-shaking and saying "hello" may be termed as rituals. The field of ritual studies has seen a number of conflicting definitions of the term. One given by Kyriakidis is that a ritual is an outsider's or "etic" category for a set activity (or set of actions) that, to the outsider, seems irrational, non-contiguous, or illogical. The term can be used also by the insider or "emic" performer as an acknowledgement that this activity can be seen as such by the uninitiated onlooker. In psychology, the term ritual is sometimes used in a technical sense for a repetitive behavior systematically used by a person to neutralize or prevent anxiety; it can be a symptom of obsessive–compulsive disorder but obsessive-compulsive ritualistic behaviors are generally isolated activities.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ritual

   A ritual is a series of actions or type of behavior regularly followed by a individual or group, often in a religious or ceremonial context. These actions are typically symbolic and performed in a particular sequence, and often at specific times or places, believed to bring about a desired outcome or demonstrate a certain belief or tradition.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Ritualadjective

   of or pertaining to rites or ritual; as, ritual service or sacrifices; the ritual law

2. Ritualnoun

   a prescribed form of performing divine service in a particular church or communion; as, the Jewish ritual

3. Ritualnoun

   hence, the code of ceremonies observed by an organization; as, the ritual of the freemasons

4. Ritualnoun

   a book containing the rites to be observed

5. Etymology: [L. ritualis, fr. ritus a rite: cf. F. rituel.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Ritual

   A ritual "is a stereotyped sequence of activities involving gestures, words, and objects, performed in a sequestered place, and designed to influence preternatural entities or forces on behalf of the actors' goals and interests." Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized by formalism, traditionalism, invariance, rule-governance, sacral symbolism and performance. Rituals of various kinds are a feature of almost all known human societies, past or present. They include not only the various worship rites and sacraments of organized religions and cults, but also the rites of passage of certain societies, atonement and purification rites, oaths of allegiance, dedication ceremonies, coronations and presidential inaugurations, marriages and funerals, school "rush" traditions and graduations, club meetings, sports events, Halloween parties, veterans parades, Christmas shopping and more. Many activities that are ostensibly performed for concrete purposes, such as jury trials, execution of criminals, and scientific symposia, are loaded with purely symbolic actions prescribed by regulations or tradition, and thus partly ritualistic in nature. Even common actions like hand-shaking and saying hello may be termed rituals.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Ritual

   rit′ū-al, adj. consisting of or prescribing rites.—n. manner of performing divine service, or a book containing it: the body of rites employed in the church: the code of ceremonies observed by an organisation, as the ritual of the Freemasons.—ns. Rit′ūalism, systems of rituals or prescribed forms of religion: the observance of them: the name popularly given to the great increase of ceremonial and symbolism by means of special vestments, &c., in the Church of England since about 1860-65: Rit′ūalist, one skilled in or devoted to a ritual: one of the party devoted to ritualism in the Church of England.—adj. Ritūalist′ic, pertaining to the ritual.—adv. Rit′ūally. [L. ritualis; cf. Rite.]

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ritual

   Song lyrics by ritual -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by ritual on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Custom
   • Practice

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'ritual' in Nouns Frequency: #2374

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce ritual?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say ritual in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of ritual in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of ritual in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of ritual in a Sentence

1. Todd Arnedt:

   We do know that relaxing is an important activity before bed, so for people with insomnia, it could be beneficial to decrease that state of arousal, these rituals become important and we almost always will recommend to someone if they have a ritual that helps them fall asleep, then do it.

2. Jon Stewart:

   Does anyone know when that started, playing the national anthem before games? It’s such a weird ritual, i’ve always thought about when Kaepernick took the knee and the whole thing was like, ‘You gotta stand for the anthem!’… But, like, why is that?

3. Jeff Berman:

   And all of the, El Paso in which O'Rourke know, performance, the ritual, and the -- El Paso in which O'Rourke know, I don't know, all the editing, that goes into speaking when El Paso in which O'Rourke're running for office.

4. Ethar El-Katatney:

   I was out for a couple of hours just kind of taking photos, recording. And just two hours standing in the sun makes you so dizzy and so incredibly faint, but regardless, people were still continuing to ... their ritual, where the stampede happened.

5. Richard Freund:

   That was the reason we used GPR! we found excavatable areas around the school where the floor of the synagogue and ritual baths still lie 70+ years later.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=ritual
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Ritual
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=ritual
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ritual
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=ritual
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=ritual
9. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=ritual