festival

[fes-tuh-vuhl]

noun

1. a day or time of religious or other celebration, marked by feasting, ceremonies, or other observances.

   the festival of Christmas; a Roman festival.

2. a periodic commemoration, anniversary, or celebration.

   an annual strawberry festival.

3. a period or program of festive activities, cultural events, or entertainment.

   a music festival.

4. gaiety; revelry; merrymaking.

adjective

1. festal.

   a festival atmosphere of unrestrained joy.

festival

/ ˈfɛstɪvəl /

noun

1. a day or period set aside for celebration or feasting, esp one of religious significance

2. any occasion for celebration, esp one which commemorates an anniversary or other significant event

3. an organized series of special events and performances, usually in one place

   a festival of drama

4. archaic,  a time of revelry; merrymaking

5. (modifier) relating to or characteristic of a festival

Other Word Forms

• prefestival noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of festival¹

1300–50; Middle English < Medieval Latin fēstivālis ( diēs ) holy (day). See festive, -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of festival¹

C14: from Church Latin fēstivālis of a feast, from Latin festīvus _festive

Example Sentences

Polish says the indie film world has more distributors and festivals.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The event is now the largest greenfield festival in the world and Worthy Farm turns into a temporary city with a population of about 200,000 when it is on.

Read more on BBC

But on Friday, on the opening day of an autumn festival, the 64-year-old sent an offering and reports said she was likely to refrain from visiting in order not to upset Japan's neighbours.

Read more on Barron's

Originally created by Alibaba as a Chinese shopping festival, Singles' Day is akin to Amazon's Prime Day or Black Friday promotions elsewhere in the world.

Read more on BBC

But it’s also not unexpected, considering how how much buzz the band Militarie Gun received on the festival grounds before they came on stage.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• anniversary 
• commemoration 
• competition 
• fair 
• feast 
• gala 
• holiday