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

This is a great breakdown of the pitfalls of blind submissions that offers clear steps filmmakers can take to craft a festival strategy that fits their specific project. —Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 19 Mar. 2026

Fans will enter the festival area at Lemon Hill through a main gate at the intersection of Poplar, Sedgley and Lemon Hill drives, said Michael DelBene, executive producer of the festival. —Joe Brandt, CBS News, 19 Mar. 2026

Noun

In some cases, the compression worked in the festival’s favor, nudging people to leave overcrowded screenings and redirect their attention to other corners of the event. —Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 20 Mar. 2026

On March 18th, Hadi gathered with friends to celebrate Chaharshanbe Suri, a festival of fire on the eve of the last Wednesday before Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which begins on March 20th. —Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 20 Mar. 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