Diwali

American

[dih-wah-lee, -vah-, duh-] / dɪˈwɑ li, -ˈvɑ-, də- /

Also Divali,

noun

the Hindu festival of lights, celebrated as a religious holiday throughout India, falling between mid-October and mid-November.

Diwali British

/ dɪˈwɑːlɪ /

noun

a major Hindu religious festival, honouring Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Held over the New Year according to the Vikrama calendar, it is marked by feasting, gifts, and the lighting of lamps

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What is Diwali? Diwali is a major Hindu festival popularly called the “festival of lights.” Generally, Diwali is often considered a celebration of the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. The festival commemorates different specific things in different places and among different communities. It is often associated with the goddess Lakshmi or with Rama (an avatar of the god Vishnu). For some Hindus, Diwali marks the start of the New Year. Diwali is also celebrated by some Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists, though they may interpret and observe it differently. Diwali is a five-day festival, but its third day is typically observed as the main celebration. Diwali is pronounced dih-WAH-lee or dih-VAH-lee and can also be spelled Divali and Dewali. Other variants include Deepavali and Deepawali.

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.

See Examples For:

Diwali

Baur’s second theory was that gold performs well in September because of increased jewelry sales in anticipation of Diwali, the annual Hindu festival of lights.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

Around last October’s Diwali festival, an annual holiday accompanied by vigorous shopping, Modi urged people to buy local goods and to share their purchases on social media to inspire others.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026

New state holiday: Diwali, also known as the “Festival of Lights,” has been added to California’s official list of statewide holidays.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 1, 2026

But many in India had not heard of these guns until last week, when a spate of injuries was reported after Diwali.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2025

Dimple remembered that...it was from last Diwali, when Mamma had insisted she go to the celebration put on by the Indian Association.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023