adjective
- carefully observant of ceremony; formally or elaborately polite: He greeted his rival with a ceremonious display of friendship.
- pertaining to, marked by, or consisting of ceremony; formal: a ceremonious reception.
adjective
- especially or excessively polite or formal
- observing ceremony; involving formalities
1550s, from Middle French cérémonieux or directly from Late Latin caerimoniosus, from Latin caerimonia (see ceremony). Meaning “full of show and ceremony” is from 1610s. Related: Ceremoniously; ceremoniousness.