pageants

plural of pageant
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

Synonyms & Similar 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 pageants For adult pageants, the organization will send Lianet Aguilera to Miss Supranational and Juan Daniel Naranjo to Mister Supranational, both contests held in Poland. Sarah Moreno may 31, Miami Herald, 31 May 2026 As a teenager, Bajaria helped her immigrant family’s business, washing cars before winning a string of beauty pageants, including Miss India Worldwide in 1991. Preston Fore, Fortune, 29 May 2026 The festival includes dancing, singing, and beauty pageants. Charles Preston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 May 2026 The world’s first boardwalk opened here in 1870, and by the early 20th century, Atlantic City had become one of America’s great leisure capitals, home to grand seaside hotels, beauty pageants, and supper clubs, frequented by legendary performers like Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, and The Beatles. Jessica Chapel, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 May 2026 Now in its 79th year, the festival features crab races—including the Governor’s Cup—cooking contests, live music, parades, pageants, running events, and boat docking competitions. Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 19 May 2026 Beauty pageants are added because +40 female adds to their mandates. Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 May 2026 Sara also noted to SWNS that pageants have boosted her daughter's self-esteem through the years. Lexi Lane, PEOPLE, 2 May 2026 The nearly 100-year-old tradition is celebrated with pageants at schools and other festivities. Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 1 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pageants
Noun
  • The Chicago Pride Parade, along with most other major pride parades, is held the last Sunday in June — this year, that's Saturday, June 28.
    Adam Harrington, CBS News, 7 June 2026
  • Many cities host big Pride parades with floats and lots of fanfare.
    Allison Hope, Parents, 3 June 2026
Noun
  • These exhibits have been integral to my work with students.
    Drew Pittock, USA Today, 3 June 2026
  • For more information about films, special events, exhibits, and ticketing (single tickets and multiple-screening passes), visit the Tribeca Festival website.
    David Morgan, CBS News, 3 June 2026
Noun
  • The Zoo will offer special entertainment programming such as concerts, dance competitions, trampoline shows, parades featuring life-size animal puppets and acrobats and interactive presentations on animals from around the world.
    Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2026
  • The design event kicks off Wednesday, with presentations and exhibits unfolding from the waterfront districts of Christianshavn to Islands Brygge.
    Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 8 June 2026
Noun
  • Culturally, populism spoke to a tension between the taste found in metropolitan centers and that of people in small towns across the country, pitting (for instance) classical opera and European masterwork exhibitions against folk traditions in art, dancing, and music.
    Katy Siegel, Artforum, 2 June 2026
  • Thanks to demand for continued access, the museum created a book and webpage for the temporary exhibit — a practice that’s since been extended to other temporary exhibitions at the museum.
    Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 2 June 2026
Noun
  • Passengers can expect jaw-dropping scenery throughout the journey, from towering evergreens and pristine glacial lakes to panoramas of the Rocky Mountains.
    Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 June 2026
  • As the missions continue — with Curiosity climbing higher along Mount Sharp and Perseverance scouting new terrain along Jezero's rim — more high-resolution panoramas are expected.
    Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 1 May 2026
Noun
  • The new institution positions those achievements not as distant spectacles but as part of a local story, set within walking distance of more than 30 schools and kindergartens.
    Bridget Borgobello May 30, New Atlas, 30 May 2026
  • The combination is expected to draw photographers, tourists and locals onto Manhattan’s east-west streets for one of the city’s most iconic urban skywatching spectacles.
    Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Noun
  • Production’s involvement in paying for cast extravaganzas is something Monique brought up in a confessional interview during season 10.
    McKinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 1 Mar. 2026
  • Every year, these flashy performances — from classic movie-musical extravaganzas to Disney earworms to Bond themes to power ballads — are the highlight of an already ridiculously flashy ceremony.
    Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • The games were neither displays of baseball elegance nor overpowering runaways.
    Ken Sugiura, AJC.com, 8 June 2026
  • Their flag, country name, and national anthem are removed from official displays.
    Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 7 June 2026

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“Pageants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pageants. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.

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