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

The event usually kicks off with a festival reception in the lobby, featuring lion dancers and lucky red envelopes, transforming the concert hall into a joyous cultural hub. —Noel Burgess, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026

Rufus Wainwright and Norah Jones will share the spotlight inside Park City’s Eccles Theatre on Sunday night following the festival premiere of Broken English from filmmakers Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. —Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 22 Jan. 2026

Noun

The rebrand comes amid a small wave of new exhibition opportunities for independent films, which have had trouble selling out of film festivals amid Hollywood’s larger contraction. —Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 22 Jan. 2026

The spirit of the festival’s current state and the needs of streamers and theatrical distributors couldn’t be more different. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 22 Jan. 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