Definition of "ritualistic" [rit•u•al•is•tic]

• Relating to ritual or ritualism. (adjective)
• Advocating or practicing ritual. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The thoughtful, never too literal visual narrative employed Viola's characteristic imagery of water, fire, sea, night-time forests, distant horizons which come slowly nearer, and humans in ritualistic or biblically inspired poses: prelapsarian, baptismal, transcendent."
• "He murdered people in ritualistic fashion and cooked and ate their flesh."
• "The end of various past administrations has been experienced with strong devaluation of the Mexican peso, shocking political decisions made at the last minute (for example, when former President José López Portillo decided to nationalize the banking industry), assassinations during the campaign (Luis Colosio), promises never carried out, like the 7% growth promised by President Fox, and many other events which have created what I call a ritualistic panic."