From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishritualrit‧u‧al1 /ˈrɪtʃuəl/ ●○○ noun [countable, uncountable] 1 RRa ceremony that is always performed in the same way, in order to mark an important religious or social occasion → rite ancient pagan rituals the importance of religion and ritual in our lives The lady of the house performs the sacred ritual of lighting two candles.2 TRADITIONsomething that you do regularly and in the same way each time → routineritual of the daily ritual of mealtimes He went through the ritual of lighting his cigar.
Examples from the Corpus
ritual• What used to be a real chase had become a ritual.• Set up a regular time for homework; make it a ritual.• traditional dances and rituals• The Chinese surround silk with myth and ritual.• But, as Marx saw long ago, free-market capitalism is quintessentially populist and inherently subversive of traditions and rituals.• The cremation ritual was directed mainly at inducing the spirit of the dead person to go on to the afterworld.• Once this incorrect impression is accepted and congealed, there is no commanding reason to disrupt the customary rituals of their existence.• After an elaborate ritual, the boys are formally accepted into the tribe.• The book examines rituals for childbirth from different parts of the world.• After all, in a secular age when religious rituals have lost meaning for many, the grieving still need comfort.• That is the effect of the ritual.• As part of the ritual, everyone carries the kumquats to the table.• The ritual is performed in order to thank the Sun Goddess for the rice harvest.• The Western ritual of death was observed - the obligation to remember the most dignified image of the deceased.performs ... ritual• Throughout the day the grouse drums in the woods, and the woodcock performs its exuberant ritual at dawn and dusk.went through the ritual• Most of them went through the ritual of gazing about them with curious eyes in search of a familiar face among the crowds.ritualritual2 ●○○ adjective [only before noun] 1 TRADITIONdone as part of a rite or ritual ritual dances2 REAL/NOT FALSE OR ARTIFICIALdone in a fixed and expected way, but without real meaning or sincerity The police issued the usual ritual apology. —ritually adverb Animals are brought in and ritually slaughtered.Examples from the Corpus
ritual• Other kids had histories of ritual abuse.• ritual campaign promises• Prestige was allotted according to the principles of the ritual cycle.• Not quirky little ritual habit-forming, like throwing a pinch of spilled salt over your shoulder, but slow suicide habit-forming.• ritual prayers• Tathir, the ritual purification of the social body, requires the destruction of the first and the confinement of the second.Origin ritual2 (1500-1600) Latin ritualis, from ritus; → RITE 