ritualize
verb
rit·u·al·ize ˈri-chə-wə-ˌlīz 
-chə-ˌlīz;
ˈrich-wə-
ritualized; ritualizing
intransitive verb
: to practice ritualism
transitive verb
1
: to make a ritual of
2
: to impose a ritual on
ritualization
ˌri-chə-wə-lə-ˈzā-shən
noun -chə-lə-;
ˌrich-wə-
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The nails also symbolize self-expression and the small acts of personal upkeep that many people rely on — or ritualize — in order to persevere on a daily basis. 
New York Times, 26 Oct. 2021 In the former, technology allows for a lifestyle of sybaritic ease — until the age of 30, when all citizens are killed off in a ritualized ceremony. Mark Lamster, Dallas News, 20 Mar. 2020 This was Canadian camp; the essential element of theatre enriched her sense of hockey’s ritualized violence. Ben Mcgrath, The New Yorker, 12 Nov. 2019 In the Hulu Handmaid’s adaptation by Bruce Miller, now in its third season, Lydia is a formidable creature played by the astonishing Ann Dowd, a character who fluctuates disorientingly between zealotry, empathy, and ritualized sadism. Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2019 Eleven feet wide, it was discovered inside a gold casket inside a bronze casket inside a stone pagoda — a layered, ritualized interment nearly as lavish as anything in ancient Egypt. Christopher Knight, latimes.com, 29 June 2019 Another was into the fierce youth subcultures on the streets which became ritualized in the violent youth-gang culture, reinforcing the neighborhood climate of fear. Don Pinnock, Quartz Africa, 16 Aug. 2019 Tammé struggles through back pains, and her daily life ritualizes into a bruising montage: wine, pills, wrestling, repeat, repeat. Darren Franich, EW.com, 19 July 2019 Her ritualized breathing and cries of anguish are almost synchronized with the score, an interplay that’s genuinely unsettling leading up to a dramatic finish. Anne Cohen, refinery29.com, 28 June 2019 See More
New York Times, 26 Oct. 2021 In the former, technology allows for a lifestyle of sybaritic ease — until the age of 30, when all citizens are killed off in a ritualized ceremony. Mark Lamster, Dallas News, 20 Mar. 2020 This was Canadian camp; the essential element of theatre enriched her sense of hockey’s ritualized violence. Ben Mcgrath, The New Yorker, 12 Nov. 2019 In the Hulu Handmaid’s adaptation by Bruce Miller, now in its third season, Lydia is a formidable creature played by the astonishing Ann Dowd, a character who fluctuates disorientingly between zealotry, empathy, and ritualized sadism. Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2019 Eleven feet wide, it was discovered inside a gold casket inside a bronze casket inside a stone pagoda — a layered, ritualized interment nearly as lavish as anything in ancient Egypt. Christopher Knight, latimes.com, 29 June 2019 Another was into the fierce youth subcultures on the streets which became ritualized in the violent youth-gang culture, reinforcing the neighborhood climate of fear. Don Pinnock, Quartz Africa, 16 Aug. 2019 Tammé struggles through back pains, and her daily life ritualizes into a bruising montage: wine, pills, wrestling, repeat, repeat. Darren Franich, EW.com, 19 July 2019 Her ritualized breathing and cries of anguish are almost synchronized with the score, an interplay that’s genuinely unsettling leading up to a dramatic finish. Anne Cohen, refinery29.com, 28 June 2019 See More Word History
First Known Use
1840, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense