ˌsɛɹɪˈmoʊniəl ˈsɛɹɪməni ˈsɛɹəmoʊni əbˈzɝvəns əbˈzɜːvəns any activity that is performed in an especially solemn elaborate or formal way the ceremony of smelling the cork and tasting the wine he makes a ceremony of addressing his golf ball he disposed of it without ceremony the proper or conventional behavior on some solemn occasion an inaugural ceremony a formal event performed on a special occasion a ceremony commemorating Pearl Harbor