festival

1 of 2

adjective

fes·​ti·​val ˈfe-stə-vəl How to pronounce festival (audio)
Synonyms of festivalnext
: of, relating to, appropriate to, or set apart as a festival

festival

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: a time of celebration marked by special observances
b
: feast sense 2
2
: an often periodic celebration or program of events or entertainment having a specified focus
a daffodil festival
a Greek festival
3
: gaiety, conviviality

Synonyms

Noun

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of festival in a Sentence

Noun Each year, a festival was held to celebrate the harvest. The town has a summer festival in the park.
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.
Adjective
Nevertheless, the festival site also showed that music-only passes for next year had already gone on sale… at a much lower cost than the asking price for film/TV-only passes. — Chris Willman, Variety, 17 Mar. 2025 Backed by government funding and the mentoring of experienced local producers and directors, these talents have seen encouraging box office results at home as well as festival play and some commercial success overseas. — Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 16 Mar. 2025
Noun
Combs is the Windy City festival’s first-ever country closer, while TWICE is the first K-pop girl group to headline. — Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 18 Mar. 2025 Bodhi Tree also will participate in the Music en la Calle festival from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 14, in City Heights. — La Jolla Light, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for festival

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin festivus festive

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of festival was in the 14th century

Phrases Containing festival

Browse Nearby Words

festival
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Cite this Entry

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

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Kids Definition

festival

noun
fes·​ti·​val
ˈfes-tə-vəl
1
: a time of celebration in honor of a special occasion
2
: an often regularly occurring program of events or entertainment
festival adjective
Etymology

Noun

from earlier festival (adjective), derived from early French festival "festive," from Latin festivus "festive," from festum (noun) "festival, feast" — related to feast, fiesta

More from Merriam-Webster on festival

Nglish: Translation of festival for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about festival

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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