festive

[ fes-tiv ]

/ ˈfɛs tɪv /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR festive ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

pertaining to or suitable for a feast or festival: festive decorations; a festive meal.

joyous; merry: a festive mood.

Nearby words

festinant, festinate, festination, festival, festival hall, festive, festive season, festivity, festoon, festoon blind, festoonery

Origin of festive

1645–55; < Latin fēstīvus merry, equivalent to fēst(us) festal + -īvus -ive

Related forms

fes·tive·ly, adverbfes·tive·ness, nounnon·fes·tive, adjectivenon·fes·tive·ly, adverb

non·fes·tive·ness, nounsub·fes·tive, adjectivesub·fes·tive·ly, adverbsub·fes·tive·ness, nounun·fes·tive, adjectiveun·fes·tive·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for festive

Many love Christmas and all the festive decorations that come with it.
Star Wars Christmas Lights, Unedited Footage of a Bear, and More Viral Videos|The Daily Beast Video|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Creepy thing to wrap up in festive paper and a bow and give to a newborn baby, yeah?
Keep Christmas Commercialized!|P. J. O’Rourke|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And the entire Bon Temps gang has gathered for a festive Thanksgiving dinner.
'True Blood' Ends With a Whimper: The Sexy HBO Vampire Series Is (Finally) Over|Marlow Stern|August 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When the host is in a festive mood, entering customers are given strings of Mardi Gras beads.
The Ultimate Southern Cheeseburger Created in South Carolina|Jane & Michael Stern|August 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

It had a festive air last Sunday as residents flooded into the spotlessly clean park to soak up the first rays of spring.
Is Kharkiv Ukraine’s Next Tipping Point?|Vijai Maheshwari|March 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The musicians give a sample of their skill and seat themselves at the festive board.
Norway|Beatrix Jungman
The professional acrobats that are met with on festive occasions are fearless and skilful.
The Kingdom of the Yellow Robe|Ernest Young
I must see that he gets out of his studiousness and is clothed in festive mind for this evening.
Other Things Being Equal|Emma Wolf
There only needed some novelty, now that the old diversions had come to an end, to complete the delights of the festive hours.
Zigzag Journeys in Europe|Hezekiah Butterworth
But the position of the secretary was the absolute antipode of this tranquil and festive sinecure.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine -- Volume 57, No. 351, January 1845|Various

British Dictionary definitions for festive

festive

/ (ˈfɛstɪv) /

adjective

appropriate to or characteristic of a holiday, etc; merry

Derived Forms

festively, adverbfestiveness, noun

Word Origin for festive

C17: from Latin festīvus joyful, from festus of a feast

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