carnival 1 of 2

noun

ˈkär-nə-vəl How to pronounce carnival (audio)
Definition of carnivalnext
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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carnival

2 of 2

adjective

as in carnivalesque

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of carnival
Noun
Waiting on a Friend, Natalie Adler Advertisement Throughout the late 1970s and early ‘80s, Manhattan’s Lower East Side was a nonstop carnival until the AIDS epidemic devastated a generation of defiant gay men and trans women. — Hamilton Cain, Time, 7 July 2026 The celebration includes carnival rides, live music, food vendors and a fireworks show honoring the nation's 250th anniversary. — Kyla Guilfoil, NBC news, 5 July 2026
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
  1. festival
  2. carnivalesque
  3. celebration
  4. riotous
  5. festivity
  6. raucous
  7. boisterous
  8. raffish
Noun
  • The fan festival outside the stadium was packed with fans wearing colors that didn’t represent England or France.
    — Michael Butler, Miami Herald, 19 July 2026
  • The California State Fair and Embarc’s team are honoring the activists who were on the front line of the fight throughout the festival’s run this year.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 19 July 2026
Definition of festival
Adjective
  • In Trinidad, which has a sizable population of Indian-origin immigrants, there is a local carnivalesque form of the holiday called Hosay.
    — Charles Preston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 May 2026
  • The atmosphere, for a while, was carnivalesque.
    — Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 6 Apr. 2026
Definition of carnivalesque
Noun
  • Delivery had been delayed as the city grappled with the tragedy, a small but unforgettable reminder that Atlanta’s celebration had changed overnight.
    — Andrea Clement, AJC.com, 17 July 2026
  • The whole thing, from the new series to the game nights themselves, even this evening’s celebrations, have the feeling of the late-1970s public access show TV Party, a loose, unpredictable New York salon helmed by Glenn O’Brien.
    — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 16 July 2026
Definition of celebration
Adjective
  • The joyous if relatively restrained gathering was the culmination of the riotous nationwide celebrations that had broken out on the evening of April 12, when the results of the parliamentary elections came in.
    — Gordon F. Sander, The New York Review of Books, 4 July 2026
  • Guns is an actor and writer, known for her razor-sharp observations and riotous voice.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 July 2026
Definition of riotous
Noun
  • Argentina followers found the more official watch party at Centennial Park too um … impartial … for their tastes and moved their festivities a few blocks east.
    — Adam Van Brimmer, AJC.com, 16 July 2026
  • O’Hara said hotels further away from the festivities saw lower-than-expected reservations.
    — Dylan Lysen, Kansas City Star, 16 July 2026
Definition of festivity
Adjective
  • Silent and purposeful, the pelicans cut through a raucous chaos of gulls at the end of the wharf and glided on into the marsh.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 July 2026
  • Instead of capping raucous Bastille Day celebrations in France with a trip to the World Cup final, Deschamps and his squad will travel to Miami to play in the third-place game.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026
Definition of raucous
Adjective
  • Over six weeks of World Cup play, boisterous watch parties strengthened that claim, helping draw more than 900,000 visits downtown.
    — Ryan Macasero, Mercury News, 19 July 2026
  • That includes Ghana, which received a boisterous welcome to KC after arriving here for its Round-of-32 match against Colombia.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 17 July 2026
Definition of boisterous
Adjective
  • And then there's a top-of-his-game Chevy Chase as a devil-may-care golfer and Bill Murray as a raffish groundskeeper.
    — Jesse Hassenger, Entertainment Weekly, 18 June 2026
  • Kids join academies as raffish improvisors, little bundles of wild ideas and schemes.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 10 June 2026
Definition of raffish

Browse Nearby Words

carnality
carnival
carnivalesque
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Cite this Entry

“Carnival.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/carnival. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on carnival

Nglish: Translation of carnival for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about carnival

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