Rite, n.
Etymology: [L. ritus; cf. Skr. riti a stream, a running, way, manner, ri to flow: cf. F. rit, rite. CF. Rivulet.]
The act of performing divine or solemn service, as established by law, precept, or custom; a formal act of religion or other solemn duty; a solemn observance; a ceremony; as, the rites of freemasonry. He looked with indifference on rites, names, and forms of ecclesiastical polity. Macaulay.
Syn. -- Form; ceremony; observance; ordinance.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for rite; he lists it under sacrament.
Where he writes about it:
An observance has more than a formal obligation, reaching or approaching a religious sacredness; a stated religious observance, viewed as established by authority, is called an ordinance; viewed as an established custom, it is a rite. — from sacrament
Antonyms
none given