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

Ayesha also gave fans a peek into their festival weekend on TikTok. —Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026

Rodrigo has yet to drop tour dates behind GSIL, which will follow her momentous Guts World Tour that wrapped in August 2025 (the double LP Live at Glastonbury showcased her incredible year touring the festival circuit). —Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 17 Apr. 2026

Noun

Similar to Coachella’s surprises, the festival recently announced that Dan + Shay are on the bill for Friday on the Palomino Stage. —Vanessa Franko, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026

Neon has swooped in to take North American rights to the film ahead of its festival bow. —Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 22 Apr. 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