festival

1 of 2

adjective

fes·​ti·​val ˈfe-stə-vəl How to pronounce festival (audio)
: 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
2
: an often periodic celebration or program of events or entertainment having a specified focus
a daffodil festival
a Greek festival
3

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
It’s been really fun to be on the festival journey together. Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 12 Dec. 2024 Yeoh’s Wicked co-star Erivo earlier in the festival day also discussed the film’s success and decried the cyberbullying of co-star Ariana Grande. Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Dec. 2024
Noun
The festival has booked Gary Clark Jr., Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony, Ginuwine, Joy Oladokun and Mike Jones for the occasion, with further details to be announced. Piet Levy, Journal Sentinel, 18 Dec. 2024 And the festival comes to a close, on Sunday, May 4, with a free show at Casa del Lago UNAM in Chapultepec Park. Pitchfork, 18 Dec. 2024 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

Dictionary Entries Near festival

Cite this Entry

“Festival.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/festival. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

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

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