Thesaurus results for RITES

rites

noun

plural of rite

as in rituals

an oft-repeated action or series of actions performed in accordance with tradition or a set of rules the annual summer rite of loading up the car for the big family vacation

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of rites Distrust, travel bans could complicate response Dangers faced by health workers have been heightened by anger among residents over the stringent medical protocols for handling the victims’ bodies, which clash with local burial rites. —

Jean-Yves Kamale, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026 At least three attacks have been recorded against health centers in Ituri province as residents protested stringent medical protocols that clashed with local burial rites, heightening the danger health workers face. —

ABC News, 28 May 2026 Contact with the body of an Ebola victim is an easy way for the disease to spread, but sanitary disposal of a body conflicts with the cultural burial rites of the Congolese. —

Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026 The incident underscored growing tensions between health officials enforcing strict Ebola containment measures and local customs surrounding funerals and burial rites. —

Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 22 May 2026 He was visited by a priest on Monday, May 4, who performed the last rites. —

Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 9 May 2026 The university's Bangladesh Student Association has served as a liaison, asking the institution for help preserving Limon's remains in accordance with Islamic rites. —

Mirna Alsharif, NBC news, 28 Apr. 2026 The world may have been upended by the war and the ink has barely dried on the Treaty of Versailles, but the society doyennes are doing their darnedest to return to the rituals and rites that used to govern our days. —

Danielle Parker, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026 Celebrating love is universal, but the exact rites and rituals vary. —

Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 11 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rites

Noun

Many fans embraced the alternatives, helping demonstrate that non-alcoholic beer could still play a role in the World Cup’s social rituals and match-day atmosphere.

— Daphne Ewing-Chow, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026
Earlier this month, Dunne opened up about her rituals for watching Skenes play while appearing on The Tonight Show.

— Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 25 May 2026