|serə|mōnēəs, -nyəs adjective
Etymology: Middle French cérimonieux, cérémonieux, from cérimonie, cérémonie + -eux -ous
1. : ceremonial
2. : devoted to forms and ceremony : punctilious about ceremony and formal procedure
ceremonious courtiers
it was evidently to be a ceremonious occasion, for … he found his dress clothes put out for him — Compton Mackenzie
3. : in accord with especially stiff or formal usage or prescribed procedures
the mere ceremonious salutation attending his entrance — Jane Austen
that kind of ceremonious devotion punctually observed by a gentleman of the old school — Washington Irving
4. : marked by ceremony, especially by full, elaborate, and often showy observance of prescribed forms
a ceremonious procession
his ceremonious diction wore the aspect of pomposity — Sir Winston Churchill
Synonyms: see ceremonial