pageant

noun

pag·​eant ˈpa-jənt 

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 sense 1

Synonyms

• parade
• presentation
• panorama

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

Many of them got their start in beauty pageants, from Erika Kirk (Miss Arizona) and Kristi Noem (South Dakota's Snow Queen) to deputy press secretary Anna Kelly (Miss State Fair of Virginia). —Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2025

Some scholars have suggested that the boys were prized for their looks and conscripted into homoerotic pageants created by Christopher Marlowe. —Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025

Stacey being a pageant mom is as predictable as Kenya Moore’s color contacts. —Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025

What follows is a series of comical misadventures—navigating checkpoints, ruining a wedding, and even car theft—all in a desperate race to get the dove to a beauty pageant in Jerusalem. —Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 17 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

pageant

noun

pag·​eant ˈpaj-ənt 

1

: an impressive exhibition or spectacle

2

: an entertainment consisting of scenes based on history or legend