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

That brings us, inevitably, to Donald Trump, whose long history with the Miss Universe pageant, and of making disparaging comments about transgender individuals, loom large over our conversation. — Macaela Mackenzie, Glamour, "Miss Universe Is Making History with the Pageant's First Openly Trans Contestant," 15 Dec. 2018 The pageant, trying to reinvent itself, had its share of viral moments, a couple of awkward moments and — as promised — no swimsuit competition. — Emily Yahr, The Seattle Times, "Miss America 2019: The best, worst and weirdest moments from the swimsuit-free competition," 10 Sep. 2018 The first victim was a prominent forensic psychiatrist who had consulted in high-profile murder cases, including the 1996 killing of child beauty-pageant star JonBenét Ramsey. — Washington Post, "Former White House physician investigated," 5 June 2018 The Miss America pageant has eliminated its swimsuit competition in an effort to move away from judging contestants on their physical appearance. — Alex Abad-santos, Vox, "The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show sells a fantasy of empowerment. I sorta believed it.," 3 Dec. 2018 Swimsuit competitions are eliminated from the Miss America pageant, quite rightly, but contemporary art and fashion become ever more graphic. — Tom Austin, miamiherald, "Hendrix and Zappa once rocked Miami. Today's pop culture is an epic leap away.," 29 June 2018 The Miss America pageant recently eliminated this portion of the contest to mixed reactions. — Rebecca Farley, refinery29.com, "The Proposal Is A Disturbing Anti-Women Episode Of Next," 19 June 2018 The Miss America pageant is run by a non-profit organization in New Jersey. — Carlie Kollath Wells, NOLA.com, "Miss America to end swimsuit competition. Here's why.," 5 June 2018 Next year, the Miss Black America pageant will be entering its 50th year. — Andrew Dansby, Houston Chronicle, "Lewis Black on political humor, coffee," 26 Apr. 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.