festival

1 of 2

adjective

fes·​ti·​val ˈfe-stə-vəl 

: 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

b

: feast sense 2

2

: an often periodic celebration or program of events or entertainment having a specified focus

a daffodil festival

a Greek festival

3

: gaiety, conviviality

Synonyms of festival

Noun

• celebration
• festivity
• fiesta

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

Since last year, the festival has increased the number of available tickets from 3,000 a day to 4,000 a day according to a festival spokesperson. — Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 17 July 2026

In 2025, John Stamos finally made his festival debut alongside The Beach Boys after more than a decade of humorous campaigns that included fan lookalike contests and increasingly absurd invitations. — Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 16 July 2026

Noun

The Bite of Seattle food festival was wrapping up its annual event Sunday, the final of its three days. — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 27 July 2026

The shooting occurred during Bite of Seattle, an annual festival with food vendors and live music held at the Seattle Center. — Leah Sarnoff, ABC News, 27 July 2026

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

Phrases Containing festival

• mooncake festival
• moon festival

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