rite of passage
noun
Simple meaning
A ceremony or series of ceremonies, often very ritualized.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rytuhvpasuhjSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹaɪtəvpæsədʒ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
cultural anthropology
A ceremony or series of ceremonies, often very ritualized, to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person's life to another.
by extension
Any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage in a person's life to another.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (cultural anthropology) A ceremony or series of ceremonies, often very ritualized, to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person's life to another.
Used this way, rite of passage is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. It suits considered writing and prepared speech.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Formal and ceremonial
- Usage feel
- Formal and precise
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.