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View synonyms for rite

rite

[ rahyt ]

noun

  1. a formal or ceremonial act or procedure prescribed or customary in religious or other solemn use:

    rites of baptism; sacrificial rites.

    Synonyms: usage, form, observance

  2. a particular form or system of religious or other ceremonial practice:

    the Roman rite.

  3. (often initial capital letter) a liturgy or liturgical system, especially one of the historical versions of the Eucharistic service:

    the Anglican Rite.

  4. (sometimes initial capital letter) Eastern Church, Western Church. a division or differentiation of churches based on liturgical practice.
  5. any customary observance or practice:

    the rite of afternoon tea.



rite

/ raɪt /

noun

  1. a formal act or procedure prescribed or customary in religious ceremonies

    the rite of baptism

    fertility rites

  2. a particular body of such acts or procedures, esp of a particular Christian Church

    the Latin rite

  3. a Christian Church

    the Greek rite

“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


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Other Words From

  • riteless adjective
  • riteless·ness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of rite1

1275–1325; Middle English (< Old French rit ( e )) < Latin rītus
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Word History and Origins

Origin of rite1

C14: from Latin rītus religious ceremony
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Synonym Study

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Example Sentences

The society she imagines has developed divergent theological myths and rites, like the annual “Mothering Monday,” a raucous holiday when men and women cross-dress and get wild.

Nothing is sadder than sitting at a table of computers — unable to comfort my devastated father — and attempting to reinvent rites taken for granted.

The wooden floors sloped, and signed photos of Harry Houdini and Harry Blackstone hung on the walls, like patron saints presiding over sacred, mysterious rites.

The next day, I visited Shakoor’s native village in Laribal Tral, where thousands of people participated in his last rites.

From Ozy

Of course, we shouldn’t be too quick to read Google the last rites.

In the neighborhoods they grow up in, prison is a rite of passage and being a street gangster is a viable career choice.

For anyone whose political sympathies lie left of center, discovering and reading Chomsky is a rite of passage.

A rite of passage solely reserved for adolescent girls, the painful custom is believed to be as old as the local creation myth.

I had bought the device at Rite-Aid precisely because it resembled a cigarette.

What is beginning to emerge is Brazil at an adolescent stage as part of a national rite of passage.

This important rite was just completed, when a packet was put into Ripperda's hand from Spain.

By submitting to the rite, every one that received circumcision became a debtor to do the whole law.

That the efficiency of this rite as a sign might be most complete, attention to it was enjoined under the greatest penalty.

Had it not been for the Everlasting Covenant, the rite of sacrifice had not been instituted, and a priesthood had not been.

The rite concludes by the recipient spitting on a consecrated host and the whole assembly piercing it in turn with stilettos.

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ritardandorite de passage