pageant

play

noun pag·eant \ ˈpa-jənt \

Definition of pageant

1 a :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 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 of pageant from the Web

Her entrance into the Miss Black America pageant wasn’t financially driven, however.

— lauren mccutcheon, Philly.com, "She's a Jersey girl, Temple Owl, Ph.D. candidate, and now Miss Black America," 30 Aug. 2017
Pageants have been welcomed to prime time by Alexandria Fair & Horse Show organizers.

— chris mayhew, Cincinnati.com, "Alexandria Fair parades bigger beauty pageants," 21 Aug. 2017
My first meeting with this gentleman, an established older executive from the communications industry, proved that once again my beauty pageant background was a barrier to being taken seriously.

— belisa silva, Harper's BAZAAR, "I Was Told I Was Too Pretty to Be a CEO," 18 Aug. 2017
Laid off from his construction job due to liability issues from his knee injury, Jimmy just wants enough money to stay close to his daughter, Sadie (Farrah Mackenzie), a spunky pageant princess with heart.

— katie walsh, idahostatesman, "Soderbergh’s blue-collar heist movie a lively ride," 17 Aug. 2017
In 1925, as documented by National Geographic, the pageant included a live camel.

— william thomas okie, Smithsonian, "The Fuzzy History of the Georgia Peach," 14 Aug. 2017
This year, the pageant also includes a People's Choice Award.

— suzanne baker, Naperville Sun, "This Naperville woman is on a quest to become Ms. Wheelchair America 2017," 4 Aug. 2017
The father and son, who worked with Trump on the pageant in 2013, were named in the emails that promised damaging information on Clinton.

— Bloomberg.com, "Lawyer: Agalarov Staffer Was Eighth Person at Trump Tower Meeting," 18 July 2017
The elder Mr. Agalarov provided the venue where Mr. Trump held the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow in 2013, and his son Emin has remained friendly with Mr. Trump and his family.

— sharon lafraniere and adam goldman, New York Times, "Guest List at Donald Trump Jr.’s Meeting With Russian Expands Again," 18 July 2017

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.

Origin and Etymology of pageant

Middle English pagyn, padgeant, literally, scene of a play, from Anglo-French pagine, pagent, from Medieval Latin pagina, perhaps from Latin, page

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year