ceremony

(sĕr'ə-mō'nē)
n., pl., -nies.

1. A formal act or set of acts performed as prescribed by ritual or custom: a wedding ceremony; the Japanese tea ceremony.
2. A conventional social gesture or act of courtesy: the ceremony of shaking hands when introduced.
3. A formal act without intrinsic purpose; an empty form: ignored the ceremony of asking for comments from other committee members.
4. Strict observance of formalities or etiquette: The head of state was welcomed with full ceremony.

[Middle English ceremonie, from Latin caerimōnia, religious rite.]

View more History, Politics, Society videos

A novel set in New Mexico in the late 1940s; published in 1977.

by Leslie Marmon Silko

Synopsis
The experiences of nuclear war, Japanese prison camps, and the changing life on the Laguna Pueblo reservation merge in a novel about the healing power of stories.

    Events in History at the Time the Novel Was Written
    The Novel in Focus
    Events in History at the Time the Novel Takes Place


Leslie Marmon Silko was born in 1948 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and grew up fifty miles to the west in the Laguna Pueblo, a seven-hundred-year-old settlement of American Indians. Partly Laguna Pueblo herself, Silko draws on this heritage for background to her novel Ceremony. The novel, written during the mid-1970s, a period of unrest and protest among many American Indian peoples, examines the clash of Indian and white cultures. Reaching back in time, it examines this clash in the context of mid-twentieth century events as they affect the life of a mixed-blood Laguna veteran of the Second World War.

For More Information
Bernstein, Alison R. American Indians and World War II: Toward a New Era in Indian Affairs. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991.
Gilbert, Martin. Second World War. Toronto: Stoddart, 1989.
Graulich, Melody, ed. "Yellow Woman": Leslie Marmon Silko. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1993.
Hilgartner, Stephen. Nukespeak: Nuclear Language, Visions, and Mindset. San Francisco: Sierra Club, 1982.
Rosen, Kenneth, ed. The Man to Send Rain Clouds: Contemporary Stories by American Indians. New York: Viking, 1974.
Sando, Joe S. Pueblo Nations: Eight Centuries of Pueblo Indian History. Santa Fe: Clear Light, 1992.
Seyersted, Per. Leslie Marmon Silko. Western Writers Series, no. 45. Boise: Boise State University, 1980.
Silko, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony. New York: Penguin, 1977.
Velie, Alan R. Four American Indian Literary Masters. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1982.

noun

1. A formal act or set of acts prescribed by ritual: ceremonial, liturgy, observance, office, rite, ritual, service. See ritual.
2. A conventional social gesture or act without intrinsic purpose: form, formality, ritual. See ritual, usual/unusual.
3. Strict observance of social conventions: ceremoniousness, formality, protocol, punctiliousness. See courtesy/discourtesy.

n

Definition: celebration
Antonyms: informality

---

IN BRIEF: An act or set of acts done in a special way, with all the right details.

The graduation ceremony was a nice send-off for the graduates.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

Ceremonies can be simple celebrations, but often they mark an important transition in life, such as a graduation ceremony or a marriage ceremony. In the dream, ceremonies can represent that one has acquired new skills or moved into a new phase of one's life.

---

For a list of words related to ceremony, see:

• Celebrations, Observances, Rites, and Gatherings - ceremony: formal act in observance of ritual or holiday

---

See words rhyming with "ceremony."

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Common misspelling(s) of ceremony

• cerimony

Dansk (Danish)
n. - ceremoni, ceremoniel, højtidelighed, formalitet

idioms:

• without ceremony    uformel

Nederlands (Dutch)
ceremonie, plechtigheid, plichtpleging

Français (French)
n. - cérémonie, cérémonies

idioms:

• without ceremony    sans cérémonie

Deutsch (German)
n. - Zeremonie, Feier, Förmlichkeit

idioms:

• without ceremony    ohne Förmlichkeit

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - τελετή, ιεροτελεστία, εθιμοτυπία, τύποι, υπερβολική αβρότητα

idioms:

• without ceremony    χωρίς πολλές διατυπώσεις, χωρίς πολλά-πολλά

Italiano (Italian)
cerimonia, funzione religiosa, cerimonie

idioms:

• without ceremony    senza cerimonie, senza complimenti

Português (Portuguese)
n. - cerimônia (f)

idioms:

• without ceremony    sem cerimônia

Русский (Russian)
церемония, церемонность

idioms:

• without ceremony    не церемонясь

Español (Spanish)
n. - ceremonia, cumplido, formalidad

idioms:

• without ceremony    sin ceremonias, sin cumplidos

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - ceremoni

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
仪式, 典礼, 形式, 礼仪, 礼节, 虚礼, 客套

idioms:

• without ceremony    不拘礼节

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 儀式, 典禮, 形式, 禮儀, 禮節, 虛禮, 客套

idioms:

• without ceremony    不拘禮節

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 식전, 예의, 정중한 행동

idioms:

• without ceremony    소탈하게, 무관하게

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 式, 式典, 礼儀, 儀礼, 形式

idioms:

• without ceremony    儀式ばらずに, 堅固しい形式抜きで

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) رسميات, مراسم, احتفال ديني‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮טקס, רשמיות‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.