festival

1 of 2

adjective

fes·​ti·​val ˈfe-stə-vəl How to pronounce festival (audio)
: of, relating to, appropriate to, or set apart as a festival

festival

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: a time of celebration marked by special observances
2
: an often periodic celebration or program of events or entertainment having a specified focus
a daffodil festival
a Greek festival
3

Examples of festival in a Sentence

Noun Each year, a festival was held to celebrate the harvest. The town has a summer festival in the park.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Metrics like charting or sales can factor in, but more important are festival identities, cultural knowledge and a little diplomacy. Shelly Tan, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024 Meanwhile, festival revelers are eagerly anticipating the any-day-now announcement of the food lineup at this year’s Coachella after years of eating specialties from KazuNori (a restaurant that launched at Coachella) and buzzworthy chefs like Roy Choi in the desert. Andy Wang, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 By any measure, Shane Smith and the Saints are in the midst of the sort of career-altering breakthrough that launches Texas bar bands into amphitheaters, music halls, and the top lines of festival posters. Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 29 Feb. 2024 The awards ceremony for the 74th Berlinale turned sharply political as one award winner after another used their festival platform to call out the Israeli government for its actions in the war in Gaza. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Feb. 2024 To receive an access code for the ticket presale, which will begin Friday (Jan. 26) at 10 a.m. PT, sign up for the festival SMS list here. Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 23 Jan. 2024 The presale will begin Feb. 16 at 10 a.m. P.T. and a festival SMS list at FoolInLove.com is now open for sign-ups for an access code to the presale. Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2024 Daughters took home the audience award in the documentary competition and earned the festival favorite award. Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Jan. 2024 Buzzy titles with notable names — Kristen Stewart, Pedro Pascal, Kieran Culkin and Steven Yeun are just a few of the stars popping up in festival movies — will vie for release slots from major studios and streamers. Matt Donnelly, Variety, 18 Jan. 2024
Noun
As before, Pepsi — the festival’s inaugural partner — will also bring back its popular Pepsi Dig In platform, featuring an array of food from local Black female restaurateurs. Gail Mitchell, Billboard, 6 Mar. 2024 Road House will open the festival, which also featured the Ryan Gosling action comedy The Fall Guy and Netflix series 3 Body Problem. Zoe G Phillips, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2024 Nearby was an ice festival, complete with a plastic skating rink, that was part of the group’s annual holiday display at Union Station this year. Beth Lipoff, Kansas City Star, 6 Mar. 2024 Atlanta spring break festival for students of historically Black colleges and universities. Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 6 Mar. 2024 According to the festival, the flower market RoozenGaarde has over 200 varieties of tulips and daffodils showcased on 50 acres of land. Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 5 Mar. 2024 This year’s festival was set to take place in July, and tickets for the French and English- language editions were still being sold Tuesday on the company’s website. Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024 According to the official website, this year, the four-day festival will be held Sept. 26-29. Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024 At a violent demonstration in Israel last September, opposition groups vowed to continue disrupting pro-Eritrean government festivals. Kendrick Marshall, Charlotte Observer, 23 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'festival.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin festivus festive

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of festival was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near festival

Cite this Entry

“Festival.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/festival. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

festival

noun
fes·​ti·​val
ˈfes-tə-vəl
1
: a time of celebration in honor of a special occasion
2
: an often regularly occurring program of events or entertainment
festival adjective
Etymology

Noun

from earlier festival (adjective), derived from early French festival "festive," from Latin festivus "festive," from festum (noun) "festival, feast" — related to feast, fiesta

More from Merriam-Webster on festival

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!