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

• celebration
• festivity

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

Fort Worth’s Fourth will be full of festival food, cold drinks, kids’ activities, live music and a fireworks show beginning at 9:30 p.m. Gates will open at 5 p.m. and admission is free. —Matt Leclercq, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 June 2025

In addition to the heavy hitters in the genres of techno, drum and bass, dubstep and house music, this year’s EDC Orlando features more than 30 artists making their festival debut. —Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 June 2025

Noun

Reactions to the sudden move varied: Those in the community who considered the festival a nuisance were relieved. —Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2025

Many of the beers that medal at each festival have limited distribution and are sometimes only available at the taproom at the brewery where they were produced. —Erik Ofgang, Forbes.com, 21 June 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