as in festival
a time or program of special events and entertainment in honor of something
the town's annual Fourth of July carnival
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in carnivalesque
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of carnival
Simon Perry, PEOPLE, 3 Nov. 2025
Eddie Jones, a fellow carnival attendee, witnessed the accident.
—Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 3 Nov. 2025
Chloe McGowan, The Indianapolis Star, 27 June 2022
The Queen is also expected to attend the Derby, one of her favorite horse race events, a concert at Buckingham Palace and the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, a carnival-style celebration during which many artists, including Ed Sheeran, will perform.
—Monique Jessen, PEOPLE.com, 12 May 2022
See All Example Sentences for carnival
Noun
High above Rio de Janeiro's coastline, he was given the keys to the city by Mayor Eduardo Paes — an honor usually reserved for the kings and queens of the famous carnival.
—Simon Perry, PEOPLE, 3 Nov. 2025
Eddie Jones, a fellow carnival attendee, witnessed the accident.
—Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
Whitestown's family-friendly Independence Day Celebration will kick off at 6 p.m. with live music, carnival-style food, a ticketed kid's zone and a fireworks show once the sun goes down.
—Chloe McGowan, The Indianapolis Star, 27 June 2022
The Queen is also expected to attend the Derby, one of her favorite horse race events, a concert at Buckingham Palace and the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, a carnival-style celebration during which many artists, including Ed Sheeran, will perform.
—Monique Jessen, PEOPLE.com, 12 May 2022
See All Example Sentences for carnival
Recent Examples of Synonyms for carnival
Noun
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Below, Holmes speaks to Deadline in depth about the festival’s first 15 years of operations, including her battles with studios and distributors to secure films, programming across the film and art space, and her plans for the festival’s future.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
6 Nov. 2025
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The festival featured a range of 252 titles (comprising features, shorts, series and immersive works) hailing from 79 countries this year, with 41 percent of works from female and non-binary filmmakers.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The film’s centerpiece is a chaotic, carnivalesque parade of surrealistic characters marching through Tokyo.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
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With their flared, fringed petals, the flowers have a carnivalesque presence, but Oppenheim’s spare installation cuts the comedy.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
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From shearling and calf hair to beading and fuzzy fringe, discover the elements that transform everyday dressing into an immersive celebration of imagination and personal style, ahead.—
Cortne Bonilla,
Vogue,
9 Nov. 2025
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One of the world’s most prestigious art events, Miami Art Week began with Art Basel Miami Beach in 2002 and has since grown into a citywide celebration that draws nearly 80,000 art lovers and tastemakers.—
Staff Author,
Southern Living,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The Dating Game, the Sundance documentary by Violet Du Feng that’s received a riotous welcome on the festival circuit, is set in China where eligible men vastly outnumber women.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
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Reid’s score alternates between rhapsody and pandemonium, with the latter winning out in a riotous coda.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Many people took the day off from work and brought their children to take part in the festivities.—
Steve Futterman,
NPR,
4 Nov. 2025
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In celebration, Jake’s older sister, Jamilah (Adrianna Mitchell), and her kids, Lisa (Braxton Paul) and Mase (Finn Maloney), travel to New York for the festivities.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Sports radio can be loud and raucous, blaring with bluster and bellowing.—
Scott Simon,
NPR,
8 Nov. 2025
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The Aztecs make their second trip to Phoenix in a month, this time to face controversial new conference member GCU in one of the nation’s most raucous home-court atmospheres.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Despite the offensive skid in their final two home games of the year, Dodgers catcher Will Smith believes in his team's ability to pull out two wins in what should be a boisterous crowd at the Rogers Centre for Game 6 (and 7 if necessary).—
Gabe Smallson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
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While at the first school my penchant for being boisterous and chatty was seen as charming, the girls at school two just viewed me as a restless chatterbox.—
Shamira Ibrahim,
Vulture,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Three or four decades ago, the newspaperman was appealingly raffish—at once a bum who drank too much and a knight-errant who charged unafraid at social injustice, succored the weak, and crossed lances with the powerful and arrogant.—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
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A little lowly courier work, yes, but nothing more raffish than that.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Carnival.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/carnival. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
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