as in celebration
a time or program of special events and entertainment in honor of something
tourists flock to the town for its annual strawberry festival
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Recent Examples of festival
The Ontario Place music festival was his first concert, an open-air opera, and Ryan was excited from the start.
—
Charlotte Observer, 13 May 2026
Imamura’s double presence in the program — with both a competition title and the festival’s top prize — gives the lineup particular weight.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 13 May 2026
Those are fall festival contenders.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 13 May 2026
William Kentridge, who has long worked on operas, is at it again at the UK’s Glyndebourne opera festival, opening May 21.
—Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for festival
Charlotte Observer, 13 May 2026
Imamura’s double presence in the program — with both a competition title and the festival’s top prize — gives the lineup particular weight.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 13 May 2026
Those are fall festival contenders.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 13 May 2026
William Kentridge, who has long worked on operas, is at it again at the UK’s Glyndebourne opera festival, opening May 21.
—Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for festival
Recent Examples of Synonyms for festival
Noun
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Subsequent photos showed the proud parents smiling in the audience as their daughter walked across the stage to collect her degree, Zahra alongside her friends in their graduation regalia and a glimpse at a family celebration.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
19 May 2026
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Where are the best bakeries to buy celebration cakes?—
Kailyn Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
18 May 2026
Noun
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Others, like Eric and Lisa Keiser, from Waterford, Pennsylvania, listened from outside the adjacent National Museum of Natural History, where the speeches and music still carried through the crowd as people milled around the Mall enjoying the day’s festivities.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
17 May 2026
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For live coverage of Saturday’s festivities, click here.—
Taylor Lyons,
Baltimore Sun,
16 May 2026
Noun
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Find the fiesta on May 2 and 5 at 9776 Eagle Creek Center Blvd.—
Patrick Connolly,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 Apr. 2026
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Chile Brings Out the Big Guns Chile’s joyous presence as the Country of Honor at FICG meant panels, tributes, masterclasses and fiestas galore.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Festival.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/festival. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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