pageant

noun

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

The Miss Gay Arizona America pageant is a boot camp for drag queens that has inspired and refined entertainers for more than three decades. — Garrett Mitchell, azcentral, "Miss Gay Arizona pageant lauds the best drag performers," 11 June 2018 The pageant has actually been going on for several days now, with 51 contestants -- one from each state, as well as the District of Columbia -- taking part in preliminary competitions. — Mike Scott, NOLA.com, "Miss USA 2018: Time, channel, streaming info for the Shreveport pageant," 21 May 2018 The pageant is for women 26 years of age and older who are single, divorced, widowed or married, PRNewswire added. — Fernando Alfonso Iii, Houston Chronicle, "Former Houston attorney crowned 2018 Ms. International," 20 Mar. 2018 In the world of pageants, there’s no such thing as a no-makeup look. — Janelle Okwodu, Vogue, "Watch Catriona Gray Do the Makeup She Wore to Win Miss Universe," 20 Feb. 2019 Big hair is usually reserved for southern beauty pageants, Lana Del Rey, and Priscilla Presley. — Sarah Spellings, The Cut, "This Is the Biggest, Best Hair at Haute Couture Fashion Week," 5 July 2018 There will be a week-and-a-half long citywide Juneteenth celebration in honor of African-American history and culture with a barbecue, live jazz, food, a pageant, a talent show and more. — Yoshina Okamoto, Anchorage Daily News, "Coming up: Juneteenth, a traveling circus and Cut/Copy," 14 June 2018 Miss America will be a competition, not a pageant, Carlson said on the show Tuesday. — Carma Hassan, CNN, "Miss America pageant scrapping swimsuits," 5 June 2018 Carnival, Dairy Princess pageant, food, parade (June 22), more. — Michelle Jenkins, idahostatesman, "June rocks with Alive After Five, family festivals and free movie nights | Idaho Statesman," 26 May 2018

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.