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
According to Billboard, beyond performing, Travis Scott will work with Coachella organizers to redesign the festival grounds with a Cactus Jack touch. Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 5 Feb. 2025 Entertainment on three stages, downtown restaurants and shops, and festival food court and bistro. Kari Barnett, Sun Sentinel, 4 Feb. 2025
Noun
Both struggled with severe mental-health issues but have flourished in their partnership since meeting at a music festival, getting married and forming the War and Treaty. Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2025 Boston SciFi, the longest-running genre film festival in the States, includes 10 features including world and US premieres. Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 9 Feb. 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

Dictionary Entries Near festival

Cite this Entry

“Festival.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/festival. Accessed 20 Feb. 2025.

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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