festival
Americannoun
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festivals
plural
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a day or time of religious or other celebration, marked by feasting, ceremonies, or other observances.
the festival of Christmas; a Roman festival.
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a periodic commemoration, anniversary, or celebration.
an annual strawberry festival.
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a period or program of festive activities, cultural events, or entertainment.
a music festival.
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gaiety; revelry; merrymaking.
adjective
noun
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a day or period set aside for celebration or feasting, esp one of religious significance
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any occasion for celebration, esp one which commemorates an anniversary or other significant event
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an organized series of special events and performances, usually in one place
a festival of drama
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archaic a time of revelry; merrymaking
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(modifier) relating to or characteristic of a festival
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of festival
1300–50; Middle English < Medieval Latin fēstivālis ( diēs ) holy (day). See festive, -al 1
Explanation
A festival might be an all-day series of music performances or a weekend of short plays or films. Any program made up of many different acts, especially lasting an entire day or several days, can be called a festival. Another meaning of the word festival is "big party," again most often a celebration that lasts for a long period of time. Some festivals are religious, and others are seasonal or cultural, like a city's Italian Heritage Festival. Some famous festivals include the Fringe Festival in Scotland, Carnivale in Brazil, Oktoberfest in Germany and Burning Man in the United States. You could travel the world as a festival hopper.
Vocabulary lists containing festival
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Party Parlance for Mardi Gras
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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.
See Examples For:
Dry but chilly weather is forecast this week as millions plan to celebrate Guy Fawkes night on Thursday and the Hindu festival of Diwali on 8 November.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
The 23-year-old pop star brought out Stevie Nicks, Sarah McLachlan and Alanis Morissette during her headlining set at Saturday’s festival in Irvine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
"Panag-aapoy is a sacred cultural tradition, NOT a festival or a tourism event," the Philippine tourism ministry said in a seasonal advisory.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
At the Bowers Museum, 2002 N. Main St., celebrates a free festival from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with live music, dance performances, face painting, and family art projects.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026
Friday, I spend every minute I’m not in class working on a handout for the festival.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
“We go to shows and festivals as frequently as we can afford to,” said Jami Tenorio, his mother.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
In addition to the music and wellness festivals, events to pitch retail investors, financial advisers and family offices are happening at five-star hotels in Beverly Hills, Sonoma wine country retreats, holiday parties and steakhouse dinners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Deadly crowd incidents, including during religious festivals, are not uncommon in India due to poor management and lack of adequate safety precautions.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
We were moving to release that and put it into the fall festivals.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
He wrote Odes in honor of the victors in the games at the great national festivals of Greece, and in every one of his poems myths are told or alluded to.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
