1
a
: a time of celebration marked by special observances
b
2
: an often periodic celebration or program of events or entertainment having a specified focus
a daffodil festival
a Greek festival
3
Synonyms
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
Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2023
The Thirty Seconds to Mars’ 2024 Seasons World Tour kicks off March 15 in Latin America with festival performances at Lollapalooza Chile, Argentina and Brazil.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 9 Nov. 2023
The tour kicks off in Latin America, with festival performances at Lollapalooza in Argentina and Chile from March 15 to 17, then the band hits Colombia, Brazil and Mexico.
—Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2023
Part of the 15th annual Art San Diego festival this weekend at the downtown Convention Center, The John Lennon Art Collection of lithographs, prints and originals will be on display and, the festival folks tell us, available for purchase.
—David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Nov. 2023
One of the new initiatives is the festival inviting students from around Asia to attend masterclasses in Tokyo with leading industry figures such as filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, who will also oversee the TIFF Lounge series of talk shows for the fourth year.
—Gavin J Blair, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Oct. 2023
Mark Kelly Fifty years after the Yom Kippur War, Israelis face an attack launched on another holiday—Simchat Torah, which brings the festival season to a close.
—Meir Soloveichik, WSJ, 12 Oct. 2023
All festival season long, Vulture’s film writers have ventured all over the world — Cannes!
—Vulture Staff, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2023
Summer is festival season, and every marquee event from Coachella to Pitchfork offers tiers of ticket options that attendees can purchase.
—Barry Samaha, Robb Report, 13 Sep. 2023
Leo Barraclough, Variety, 23 Nov. 2023
Her daughter, Mia, was taken hostage by Hamas at a music festival in southern Israel during the terror attack on Oct. 7.
—Andy Eckardt, NBC News, 22 Nov. 2023
On Sunday, Waterhouse confirmed her pregnancy at the Mexican music festival, surprising the crowd by sharing the major news.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 21 Nov. 2023
His cousin and the cousin’s girlfriend were among those murdered at a music festival infiltrated by Hamas terrorists.
—Katherine Rosman, New York Times, 21 Nov. 2023
Their final performance together was two days ago at the music festival Darker Waves.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 21 Nov. 2023
The inaugural festival’s website boasted more than 180 recent compositions performed by 100 statewide organizations since November 3.
—Christian Hertzog, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Nov. 2023
Murder, slaughter of innocent people in their homes or at a music festival.
—Brady Knox, Washington Examiner, 20 Nov. 2023
Founded by Matt Ziegler and Tariq Cherif, Rolling Loud has become one of the premier hip-hop music festivals since launching in 2015 at Miami’s Soho Studios.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 14 Nov. 2023
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Adjective
Francis sat down with Rolling Stone before her Saturday show to talk about the meaning behind her sophomore album, celebrating Beyonce’s electronic dance album win at the Grammys and the value in performing at festival venues.
—Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2023
The Thirty Seconds to Mars’ 2024 Seasons World Tour kicks off March 15 in Latin America with festival performances at Lollapalooza Chile, Argentina and Brazil.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 9 Nov. 2023
The tour kicks off in Latin America, with festival performances at Lollapalooza in Argentina and Chile from March 15 to 17, then the band hits Colombia, Brazil and Mexico.
—Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2023
Part of the 15th annual Art San Diego festival this weekend at the downtown Convention Center, The John Lennon Art Collection of lithographs, prints and originals will be on display and, the festival folks tell us, available for purchase.
—David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Nov. 2023
One of the new initiatives is the festival inviting students from around Asia to attend masterclasses in Tokyo with leading industry figures such as filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, who will also oversee the TIFF Lounge series of talk shows for the fourth year.
—Gavin J Blair, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Oct. 2023
Mark Kelly Fifty years after the Yom Kippur War, Israelis face an attack launched on another holiday—Simchat Torah, which brings the festival season to a close.
—Meir Soloveichik, WSJ, 12 Oct. 2023
All festival season long, Vulture’s film writers have ventured all over the world — Cannes!
—Vulture Staff, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2023
Summer is festival season, and every marquee event from Coachella to Pitchfork offers tiers of ticket options that attendees can purchase.
—Barry Samaha, Robb Report, 13 Sep. 2023
Noun
The film screens in Harbour, the festival’s largest and broadest program.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 23 Nov. 2023
Her daughter, Mia, was taken hostage by Hamas at a music festival in southern Israel during the terror attack on Oct. 7.
—Andy Eckardt, NBC News, 22 Nov. 2023
On Sunday, Waterhouse confirmed her pregnancy at the Mexican music festival, surprising the crowd by sharing the major news.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 21 Nov. 2023
His cousin and the cousin’s girlfriend were among those murdered at a music festival infiltrated by Hamas terrorists.
—Katherine Rosman, New York Times, 21 Nov. 2023
Their final performance together was two days ago at the music festival Darker Waves.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 21 Nov. 2023
The inaugural festival’s website boasted more than 180 recent compositions performed by 100 statewide organizations since November 3.
—Christian Hertzog, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Nov. 2023
Murder, slaughter of innocent people in their homes or at a music festival.
—Brady Knox, Washington Examiner, 20 Nov. 2023
Founded by Matt Ziegler and Tariq Cherif, Rolling Loud has become one of the premier hip-hop music festivals since launching in 2015 at Miami’s Soho Studios.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 14 Nov. 2023
See More
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
Phrases Containing festival
Dictionary Entries Near festival
Cite this Entry
“Festival.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/festival. Accessed 30 Nov. 2023.
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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
More from Merriam-Webster on festival
Nglish: Translation of festival for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of festival for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about festival
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