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

And artists of all genres face an opportunity to connect with more engaged audiences and carve a niche foothold in the festival music world. —Andrea Zarczynski, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025

Downloading the app will keep you up to date on festival surprises and schedule changes. —Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2025

Noun

Your guide to 2025's biggest music tours and festivals Grammys 2025: Complete winners list The Las Vegas event will air live Monday, May 26, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. —Debbie Day, EW.com, 23 Apr. 2025

The festival will screen 10 works featuring Garfield, eight of which will be projected from 35mm prints. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 23 Apr. 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