pageantry

noun

pag·​eant·​ry ˈpa-jən-trē 

1

: pageants and the presentation of pageants

2

: colorful, rich, or splendid display : spectacle

3

: mere show : empty display

Examples of pageantry in a Sentence

I like the tradition and pageantry that come with graduations.

Recent Examples on the Web

Lucky winners will get up to four tickets to primo viewing areas at Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn and the South Street Seaport in Manhattan to soak in all the pomp and pageantry of the nation’s 250th birthday. — Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 26 June 2026

Trump has embraced the pageantry surrounding the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4 and increasingly has put himself at the center of it. — Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 25 June 2026

The free, two-day motorsports festival is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of fans to the nation’s capital, blending North America’s premier open-wheel racing series with historic pageantry. — Bruce Martin, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026

The 16-day event will feature food, games and other traditional fair elements, with military flyovers and patriotic pageantry rounding out the festivities. — Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 25 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1609, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

pageantry

noun

pag·​eant·​ry ˈpaj-ən-trē 

plural pageantries

1

: pageants and the presentation of pageants

2

: splendid display