car·ni·val
ˈkär-nə-vəl 
1
: a season or festival of merrymaking before Lent
2
a
: an instance of merrymaking, feasting, or masquerading
b
: an instance of riotous excess
a carnival of violence
3
a
: a traveling enterprise offering amusements
b
: an organized program of entertainment or exhibition : festival
a winter carnival
: suggestive of or suited to a carnival
a carnival atmosphere
carnival colors
Examples of carnival in a Sentence
Noun
the school's annual winter carnival
That part of town is a carnival on Friday and Saturday nights.
There is a carnival atmosphere in the office.
The garden became a carnival of color.
Recent Examples on the Web
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 9 Mar. 2025
There were the usual slam dunk, three-point shooting and other skills contests, adding to the carnival show.
—Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2025
Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2023
The Square has spooky carnival-style games.
—Annie Alleman, Chicago Tribune, 12 Sep. 2022
See All Example Sentences for carnival
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Noun
That expression has worked for a number of different characters over Cooper’s career: a carnival con man in Nightmare Alley, an arms dealer on a terrorist watch list in War Dogs, a nature lover with anger issues and a supremely punchable face in Wedding Crashers.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 9 Mar. 2025
There were the usual slam dunk, three-point shooting and other skills contests, adding to the carnival show.
—Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2025
Adjective
Customers at Starbucks will be introduced to a new interface with a carnival-style wheel.
—Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2023
The Square has spooky carnival-style games.
—Annie Alleman, Chicago Tribune, 12 Sep. 2022
See All Example Sentences for carnival
Cite this Entry
“Carnival.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carnival. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
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