festival Hear it!

festival Definition

fes·ti·val (festə vəl)

noun

  1. a time or day of feasting or celebration; esp., a periodic religious celebration
  2. a celebration, entertainment, or series of performances of a certain kind, often held periodically a Bach festival
  3. merrymaking; festivity

Etymology: ME, n. & adj. < OFr < ML festivalis < L festivus: see festive

adjective

of, for, or fit for a festival

festival Synonyms

festival

n.

festivity, holiday, gala, entertainment; see carnival 1, celebration 1, 2, entertainment 2.

festival Usage Examples

Preposition: of

    Converse of object

    • celebrate: After lunch we celebrated the festival of the Nile.
    • organize: Which is why I don't organize a festival here.

    Adjective modifier

    • annual: On the 1st of July, I'll be combining a ten mile walk around Gosport with the annual free music festival.
    • religious: There is always something going on whether it be a religious festival or a political rally.
    • three-day: A three-day sailing festival is the warm-up to three days of racing action.
    • Celtic: The Pope hoped to replace the pagan Celtic festival with a church-sponsored holiday.
    • literary: Unlike any other literary festival in the UK, Fresh Fiction is focused entirely on new books by first-time novelists.
    • week-long: The week-long festival provides an extensive program of readings from June 11 to 15.

    Modifies a noun

    • goer: Wash Away Those Sins Against Nature In a quiet corner of the Green Fields festival goers are being invited to confess their ecological sins.
    • organizer: Festival organizers have confirmed England's quarter final clash with Portugal will be screened on the festival site on Thursday night.
    • circuit: As usual Dylan plays the summer festival circuit mixed with a number of regular shows, this time starting in Oslo, Norway.
    • screenings: Festival screenings include: London, Chicago, Impakt Utrecht and EMAF, Osnabruck.
    • appearance: I'm looking forward to his V festival appearance.

    Noun used with modifier

    • harvest: This feast, with its offerings, was also the nation's harvest festival.
    • beer: Q: can the Branch help me organize a beer festival?
    • film: The film was well received at the Cannes film festival where Richard Harris won the best actor award.
    • jazz: The house is located in a small hamlet close to the town of Marciac, famous for its international jazz festival.
    • folk: This time we were off to the Trowbridge folk festival.
    • pagan: But that does not make lent or Easter into a pagan festival today.
festival Quotes

Death is the supreme Festival on the road to freedom.

—Bonhoeffer, Dietrich

We had won† I thought if war did not include killing, I'd like to see one every year. Something like a festival.

—Angelou, Maya originally MayaJohnson

Browse dictionary entries near festival

  1. festination
  2. festinate
  3. fester
  4. festal
  5. festa
  6. -fest
  7. fess up
  8. fess
  9. fescue
  10. Fescennine
  1. festive
  2. festivity
  3. festoon
  4. festoonery
  5. Festschrift
  6. FET
  7. feta
  8. feta (cheese)
  9. fetal
  10. fetal alcohol syndrome