festival

1 of 2

adjective

fes·​ti·​val ˈfe-stə-vəl How to pronounce festival (audio)
: 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
2
: an often periodic celebration or program of events or entertainment having a specified focus
a daffodil festival
a Greek festival
3

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
However, communities throughout Michigan celebrate the festival and local officials have issued statements recognizing Diwali. Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 20 Oct. 2025 Check out the full festival lineup below. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 16 Oct. 2025
Noun
As for Sundance’s main slate of world premiere films, the festival is still heads down screening some half a dozen movies a day ahead of lineup announcements later this fall. Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 21 Oct. 2025 With all that, and more to come, including the final selections and programming categories of world premieres and more, Hernandez chatted with me about what Sundance is planning for 2026, the loss of Bob Redford, and what’s in store for the big move to Boulder, CO for the 2027 festival. Dominic Patten, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for festival

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of festival was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Festival.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/festival. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.

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

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