pageant
Americannoun
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an elaborate public spectacle illustrative of the history of a place, institution, or the like, often given in dramatic form or as a procession of colorful floats.
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a costumed procession, masque, allegorical tableau, or the like forming part of public or social festivities.
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a show or exhibition, especially one consisting of a succession of participants or events.
a beauty pageant.
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something comparable to a procession in colorful variety, splendor, or grandeur.
the pageant of Renaissance history.
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a pretentious display or show that conceals a lack of real importance or meaning.
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(in medieval times) a platform or stage, usually moving on wheels, on which scenes from mystery plays were presented.
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display or pageantry.
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Obsolete. a stage bearing any kind of spectacle.
noun
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an elaborate colourful parade or display portraying scenes from history, esp one involving rich costume
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any magnificent or showy display, procession, etc
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pageant
1350–1400; Middle English pagyn, pagaunt, pagand < Anglo-Latin pāgina a stage for plays, scene, platform, perhaps special use of Latin pāgina page 1
Explanation
A pageant is an elaborate show or parade that usually depicts a historical or religious event, although these days more people know them as Miss America-type beauty contests. Pageants aren't just for beauty queens — any richly decorated spectacle or ceremony could be considered a pageant. Around Christmas time, many Christian churches put on pageants that reenact the birth of Jesus. The Carnival parades in Brazil represent another type of pageant. And if your school organized a show where students had to act out famous moments in history? That would be a pageant, too.
Vocabulary lists containing pageant
List 9
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Stella by Starlight
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Bodega Dreams
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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 Best Christmas Pageant Ever” strives to be a “Bad News Bears”-type comedy before it attempts a 180-degree turn into a heartwarming tale of unlikely interlopers who help a group of people truly understand Christmas.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 8, 2024
"It was really shocking," adds Staunton, who previously sang at the Queen's 90th Birthday Pageant in 2016.
From BBC • Dec. 1, 2023
"How to Fix a Pageant" airs Friday, Sept. 29 at 10 p.m.
From Salon • Sep. 30, 2023
One evening last month at Pageant, a performance space in Brooklyn, a line of people spilled down a flight of stairs and onto the sidewalk below.
From New York Times • Apr. 21, 2023
Pageant practices are getting lonelier by the day, and I’m really missing my friend.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
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.
