Synonym Study

• Formality suggests a conventional, often meaningless, act or custom, usually one associated with social activity the formalities of polite conversation
• Ritual refers to rites or ceremonies collectively, esp. to the rites of a particular religion the ritual of voodooism, and in extended use is applied to a regularly repeated act or series of acts performed in a set, ceremonial manner bedtime rituals
• Rite refers to the prescribed form for a religious ceremony or procedure burial rites
• Ceremony refers to a formal, usually solemn, act established as proper to some religious or state occasion the ceremony of launching a ship