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

Noun

• carnival
• celebration
• fest
• festivity
• fete
• fête
• fiesta
• gala
• jubilee

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

Last year, Aurora managed its own contracts for festival art installations, but for this year’s festival the city is looking to consolidate that down to one contract with a partner organization that can manage the art displays. —R. Christian Smith, Chicago Tribune, 6 June 2025

The festival program includes screenings in various formats, from 8mm to 70mm, and 35mm nitrate, to black and white Cinemascope. —Benny Har-Even, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025

Noun

The pair also organise the biggest annual music festival on the island, ABR festival. —Joanne Shurvell, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025

The 10th anniversary edition of the nation’s first and only LGBTQ+ and Latino multidisciplinary arts festival ends with a comedy event produced and headlined by Puerto Rican comedian Gabe González. —Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 29 May 2025

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