Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An authority on or a student of ritual.
  • noun One who practices or advocates the observance of ritual.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One versed in or devoted to ritual; a specialist in the systematic study of liturgical rites and ceremonies; especially, a writer upon this subject.
  • noun One who advocates or practises distinctive sacramental and symbolic ritual, especially that inherited or revived from ancient usage; specifically [capitalized], one of that branch of the High-church party in the Anglican Church which has revived the ritual authoritatively in use in the second year of King Edward VI. (see ornaments rubric, under ornament).
  • Ritualistic.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One skilled un, or attached to, a ritual; one who advocates or practices ritualism.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun one skilled in ritual
  • noun one excessively concerned with religious ritual
  • noun one rigidly adhering to institutional procedures

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an advocate of strict observance of ritualistic forms
  • noun a social anthropologist who is expert on rites and ceremonies

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

ritual +‎ -ist

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Examples

  • The first is called a ritualist because he invents and remembers one rite; the other is called an anti-ritualist because he obeys and forgets a thousand.

    Heretics 1905

  • True, Shepherd was more of what would now be called a ritualist than I; true, I thought my doctrine simpler and therefore better than his; but was this any reason why I should have all the grand people to minister to in my parish!

    The Seaboard Parish Volume 1 George MacDonald 1864

  • True, Shepherd was more of what would now be called a ritualist than I; true, I thought my doctrine simpler and therefore better than his; but was this any reason why I should have all the grand people to minister to in my parish!

    The Seaboard Parish, Complete George MacDonald 1864

  • Vuurdoorn is a druid/dryad and a ritualist with a fascination for silly humans without really caring for their well-being.

    Kederan XV Conquering Krimmhild nathreee 2010

  • I could use the help of a good ritualist, maybe you could assist or teach me some things?

    Kederan XV Conquering Krimmhild nathreee 2010

  • Vuurdoorn is a druid/dryad and a ritualist with a fascination for silly humans without really caring for their well-being.

    Kederan XV Conquering Krimmhild nathreee 2010

  • In future blogs, I'll be addressing a number of centripetal forces -- ways that families maintain themselves and their members under the circumstances of modern life, and not to worry, my answers may not be what you'd expect from an old professor of psychology, grandfather of 8, ritualist extraordinaire.

    Marshall P. Duke: Prime Time for Families Marshall P. Duke 2010

  • In an intense ritualist dance, the actors dressed in fantastic and weighty costumes are possessed by the Hindu deities they are incarnating.

    Everyday Devotions 2010

  • There she joined and helped shape a thriving community of Jewish feminists, becoming a ritualist who invented new rites of passage to mark the new era.

    Esther M. Broner. 2009

  • That happened in the late 80s when our mutual friend Gloria Steinem invited Marilyn, Esther Broner, the writer and ritualist, and me to dinner.

    Marilyn French, 1929 to 2009 2009

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