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

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

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