pageant

noun

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pag·eant | \ ˈpa-jənt

Definition of pageant

1a : a mere show : pretense

b : an ostentatious display

2 : show, exhibition especially : an elaborate colorful exhibition or spectacle often with music that consists of a series of tableaux, of a loosely unified drama, or of a procession usually with floats

3 : pageantry sense 1

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Examples of pageant in a Sentence

They disagreed with the pageant judges. Their church puts on an annual Christmas pageant.

Recent Examples on the Web From a high angle, with bells pealing all over, the scene resembles a pageant of Russian glory. — Alex Ross, The New Yorker, "The Drenching Richness of Andrei Tarkovsky," 8 Feb. 2021 Directed by Phillipa Lowthorpe, the movie recounted an actual protest staged by the burgeoning women’s liberation movement at the 1970 Miss World pageant in London. — Anne Cohen, refinery29.com, "Keira Knightley Is Calling Out “Horrible” Sex Scenes," 25 Jan. 2021 Usually, Pastor Colin Mathewson and his team would be planning right up until Christmas day, organizing a pageant for the kids, putting out poinsettias, memorizing holiday songs and preparing a major feast. — Joshua Emerson Smith, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Refugee church community pulls together for Christmas as pandemic takes its toll," 24 Dec. 2020 Flanigan says her modeling background came in handy for her first real pageant, competing for Miss Alabama USA. — Mary Colurso | Mcolurso@al.com, al, "Miss Alabama USA on her hometown: ‘Cullman has come a long way’," 18 Jan. 2021 On the afternoon of Saturday, October 22, 2005, Tara had helped younger contestants prepare for a local beauty pageant. — Alec Sirken, CBS News, "Was a beauty queen-turned-teacher murdered by a former student from her school?," 1 Jan. 2021 The moms were starting to arrive at the school for the pageant. — Rachel Bloom, Glamour, "Rachel Bloom: Okay, Now I’ll Talk About the OCD Thing," 13 Nov. 2020 And to Yosemite National Park for its storied Bracebridge Dinner Christmas pageant. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "For one Catholic priest, this Christmas closes a chapter but opens another," 20 Dec. 2020 The Latino Theater Company streams an archival performance of this large-scale pageant, normally staged at L.A.'s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, which re-creates the Virgin Mary’s visitations with peasant Juan Diego in 16th century Mexico. — Los Angeles Times, "The ultimate holiday shows list: 81 ‘Christmas Carols,’ ‘Nutcrackers’ and more," 11 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pageant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.