1
as in parades
a staged presentation often with music that consists of a procession of narrated or enacted scenes
we always put on a Christmas pageant every year
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in exhibits
an elaborate, visually exciting show or event
an annual summertime pageant depicting the town's founding and colorful early history
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Recent Examples of pageants
Loren got her start in beauty pageants as a young girl before turning to acting in the 1950s.
—
Juliana Ukiomogbe, Architectural Digest, 29 Sep. 2025
To support the early days of those charitable efforts, Frantzve turned to pageants.
—Shawn Raymundo, AZCentral.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Stockard didn’t know her future in pageants would lead to national success at the time of her first try in Miss Auburn University.
—Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025
Exploring the misogyny of beauty pageants and its targeting of transwomen and the ongoing objectification of women, the contestants each called to the stage, presented by a very Vincent Price-seeming host representing the patriarchy.
—Roxanne Robinson, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Despite her accomplishments in the worlds of faith, fashion and pageants, Erika emphasized that her priorities in life included being a wife and mother.
—Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Social media accounts show Snelling, who majors in interdisciplinary disability studies, attended Jefferson County High School in Mississippi and previously competed in beauty pageants.
—Joshua Rhett Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
As is the case with most pageants, each contestant's platform is an extremely important part of their participation, and at the time, Blankenship opted to advocate for infertility awareness.
—Zoey Lyttle, People.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Hashwi has competed in pageants for a few years.
—Niraj Warikoo, Freep.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Juliana Ukiomogbe, Architectural Digest, 29 Sep. 2025
To support the early days of those charitable efforts, Frantzve turned to pageants.
—Shawn Raymundo, AZCentral.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Stockard didn’t know her future in pageants would lead to national success at the time of her first try in Miss Auburn University.
—Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025
Exploring the misogyny of beauty pageants and its targeting of transwomen and the ongoing objectification of women, the contestants each called to the stage, presented by a very Vincent Price-seeming host representing the patriarchy.
—Roxanne Robinson, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Despite her accomplishments in the worlds of faith, fashion and pageants, Erika emphasized that her priorities in life included being a wife and mother.
—Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Social media accounts show Snelling, who majors in interdisciplinary disability studies, attended Jefferson County High School in Mississippi and previously competed in beauty pageants.
—Joshua Rhett Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
As is the case with most pageants, each contestant's platform is an extremely important part of their participation, and at the time, Blankenship opted to advocate for infertility awareness.
—Zoey Lyttle, People.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Hashwi has competed in pageants for a few years.
—Niraj Warikoo, Freep.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pageants
Noun
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Beyond rides, live music and parades featuring lighthouses, someone might walk away this year with a sizeable boost to their bank account — maybe as high as a million dollars.—
John Tufts,
IndyStar,
29 Sep. 2025
-
October through the end of the year marks peak tourist season in the Florida Keys, anchored by Fantasy Fest and holiday parades.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Among the exhibits is a notebook containing his handwritten account of how his grandfather arrived in Paris on foot at the age of 16 and secured an apprenticeship with a box-maker and packer named Monsieur Maréchal.—
Joelle Diderich,
Footwear News,
25 Sep. 2025
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Teachers gravitated to a book in one of our exhibits, Sermons and Addresses by Abraham Lincoln, that originally belonged to Parthenia Lawrence, a Black teenager who lived in the tenements during the Civil War and Reconstruction.—
Annie Polland,
Time,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Felloni has energized the brand with his theatrical presentations and campaigns featuring the likes of Deneuve, Laura Dern and Susan Sarandon, winning the Designer of The Year trophy at the 2023 Footwear News Achievement Awards.—
Joelle Diderich,
Footwear News,
1 Oct. 2025
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The video room has therefore become a crucial theatre, underlined by Arteta consulting educational experts to ensure his presentations were illustrated in the optimal way for players to absorb the information.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Finnie hasn’t been as noticeable as the exhibitions have gone on, though, and Copp can bring similar smarts and competitiveness, in a heavier body, to the line — if that’s how McLellan wants to deploy him.—
Max Bultman,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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Now in its 14th year, cochaired by Eva Chow and Leonardo DiCaprio, the event honors leaders in art and film, with proceeds supporting the museum’s exhibitions, acquisitions and educational programs.—
Ryma Chikhoune,
Footwear News,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Cloudy chords, meditative tintinnabulation, the whoosh of wind and rain, blocks of iridescent brass — all these discrete sonorities trundled by, like a train of boxcars with panoramas painted on their sides.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
22 Sep. 2025
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It is graced by a wildflower meadow and panoramas of the Cliffs of Aughinish and Galway Bay.—
Laura Manske,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The artist, known for his gunpowder paintings and outdoor pyrotechnic spectacles, was born in the southern Chinese city of Quanzhou but has been based in New York since the mid-90s.—
Chris Lau,
CNN Money,
22 Sep. 2025
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Even Mike Shildt, who is loath to speak publicly about anything that would suggest his spectacles are not rose-tinted, said as much.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Sundance Film Festival, named for one of the actor’s most iconic characters, grew into a cornerstone of the film industry and eventually one of the most glitzy extravaganzas on the Hollywood social calendar, known as much for screenings as for executive deal-making and VIP parties.—
Daniel Arkin,
NBC news,
16 Sep. 2025
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Advertisers still crave the broad, simultaneous viewership such extravaganzas generate, and marketers that in the past might not have spent heavily on sports now see new reasons to do so.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Through two days, Luke Donald’s European Ryder Cup team has put on one of the most impressive displays in the history of team golf.—
Justin Ray,
New York Times,
28 Sep. 2025
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Legal issues faced by the Airline History Museum over the past several years dealing with the museum’s ability to operate in its current location has left its displays locked down and out of the view of the public.—
Chris Ochsner,
Kansas City Star,
28 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pageants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pageants. Accessed 4 Oct. 2025.
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