ceremony
Pluralceremonies
- 1A formal event held to celebrate or remember something important.
Like a big party that is planned to mark something important.
The school held a ceremony to welcome the new students.
Thousands of people came to the opening ceremony for the new stadium.
Similarservice, celebration, commemoration
- 2A set of religious or cultural actions done in a special, fixed way.
Like the special steps a family follows the same way every holiday.
The wedding ceremony followed traditions passed down for generations.
Each spring the village holds a ceremony to bless the fields.
Similarritual, rite, observance
Note
- 3Polite, formal behavior, especially toward important people.
Among old friends there is little need for ceremony.
The host welcomed us without ceremony and offered everyone tea.
Similarformality, protocol, etiquette, decorum
Oppositeinformality
Note
- 4
Less common meanings
- 5An object or item used as part of a religious ritual.
Note
- 6A sign believed to warn that something is going to happen.
Caesar, I never stood on ceremonies, Yet now they fright me.
1599, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”Here, ceremonies means signs or omens that seem to tell the future.For he is superstitious grown of late, Quite from the main opinion he held once Of fantasy, of dreams, and ceremonies.
1599, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”Here, ceremonies means omens, signs believed to show what will happen.Note
Practice
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Origin
It comes from Latin caerimonia, meaning a sacred rite or reverence, and reached English through Middle English cerymonye.