carnival

1 of 2

noun

car·​ni·​val ˈkär-nə-vəl How to pronounce carnival (audio)
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

carnival

2 of 2

adjective

: 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Italian carnevale, alteration of earlier carnelevare, literally, removal of meat, from carne flesh (from Latin carn-, caro) + levare to remove, from Latin, to raise

First Known Use

Noun

1549, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1605, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of carnival was in 1549

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Carnival.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carnival. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

carnival

noun
car·​ni·​val
ˈkär-nə-vəl
1
: a season or festival of merrymaking before Lent
2
: a noisy merrymaking
3
a
: a traveling group that puts on a variety of amusements
b
: a program of entertainment

More from Merriam-Webster on carnival

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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