adjective
Other Word Forms
- festively adverb
- festiveness noun
- nonfestive adjective
- nonfestively adverb
- nonfestiveness noun
- subfestive adjective
- subfestively adverb
- subfestiveness noun
- unfestive adjective
- unfestively adverb
Etymology
Origin of festive
First recorded in 1645–55; from Latin festīvus “merry, lively, joyous,” equivalent to festus “festal” + -īvus -ive
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.
That November evening at the opera house, Huang was in a festive mood.
She came to Seoul just to soak up the festive vibes and potentially catch a glimpse somehow of the band from afar.
"There's nothing to celebrate," said Aziza Ahmad, who has cancelled her family's normal plans for a festive meal and gifts for the children, her small Beirut apartment hosting several displaced relatives.
From Barron's
The light snow that had fallen was the only festive quality of the season.
From Literature
Artists will be painting in some of the gardens, and if you wear a festive garden party hat, you’ll be entered in the club’s hat contest.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
