pageantry

noun

pag·​eant·​ry ˈpa-jən-trē 

1

: pageants and the presentation of pageants

2

: colorful, rich, or splendid display : spectacle

3

: mere show : empty display

Examples of pageantry in a Sentence

I like the tradition and pageantry that come with graduations.

Recent Examples on the Web

July followed with Wimbledon, Tour de France and World Cup pageantry. — Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 31 July 2026

The pageantry may attract attention, and the awards may celebrate achievement. — Richard Fowler, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

Monday started with the pageantry of a now-familiar political handover (Burnham being Britain’s seventh prime minister in a little more than a decade and the fifth in four years). — Alexander Smith, NBC news, 20 July 2026

Pasolini’s emphasis on the violence and mystery of Bronze Age life extends to elaborate presentations of religious pageantry, including human sacrifice, that are both choreographic and anthropological, in images as formalized as the onscreen action. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 15 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1609, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

pageantry

noun

pag·​eant·​ry ˈpaj-ən-trē 

plural pageantries

1

: pageants and the presentation of pageants

2

: splendid display