noun
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merriment characteristic of a festival, party, etc
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any festival or other celebration
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(plural) festive proceedings; celebrations
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of festivity
1350–1400; Middle English festivite (< Old French ) < Latin fēstīvitās. See festive, -ity
Explanation
Festivity is a fancy word for “party” or “celebration.” It’s often plural, because everyone loves to party, as in all the holiday festivities that happen at the end of the year. The word festive describes balloons, fancy clothes, finger foods, and other things that go with celebrations. Likewise, a festivity is any kind of festive occasion. A birthday party, surprise party, graduation party, and Halloween party are all festivities. The word festivity shares a Latin root with the word feast. At festivities, people eat, drink, and are merry.
Vocabulary lists containing festivity
Mardi Gras: Fun
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Copper Sun
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"Allied with Green," Vocabulary from the short story
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The incident took place on Saturday during an annual cultural festivity at the Laferrière Citadel, a Unesco World Heritage site in northern Haiti.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
Yet amid all the elaborate cultural festivity around the girl’s arrival at womanhood, there’s a sobering catch.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2024
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — In the past, playing a regular-season game abroad would bring a sense of festivity for a New England Patriots team that is unbeaten in three previous international appearances.
From Washington Times • Nov. 9, 2023
Dozens sat around a garden table in Bortnychi village under a tent decorated with balloons and garlands for a day of festivity steeped in Ukrainian rural tradition.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 14, 2023
In both his dress and his manner, he disdained all festivity.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
