festivals

noun

plural of festival
as in celebrations
a time or program of special events and entertainment in honor of something tourists flock to the town for its annual strawberry festival

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 festivals Born in Pamplona, Spain, in 1951, Bergasa was known for his black-and-white documentary photographs of rural festivals and rituals at risk of erasure. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 26 Oct. 2026 The founding festivals of the Academy were Sarajevo Film Festival, Zagreb Film Festival and the Auteur Film Festival in Belgrade. — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 26 Oct. 2026 Unlike other modern culinary festivals, there was no peeking behind the curtain, because, in fact, there is no curtain. — Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Oct. 2026 Halloween kicks off a series of religious and cultural festivals to honor the dead, including All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day and the Day of the Dead. — Ashton Verdery, The Conversation, 23 Oct. 2026 Mehrel said, adding that the film went on to play over 50 festivals. — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 23 Oct. 2026 The band will also play a host of European festivals next summer. — Spin Staff, SPIN, 22 Oct. 2026 In 1973, Dale and Alonzo launched Brockman Gallery Productions, a nonprofit that produced outdoor exhibitions, film festivals and community classes. — Siran Babayan, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026 And February’s annual Festival du Voyageur is one of Canada’s largest winter festivals, featuring huge snow sculptures, music, and cultural interpreters who bring the fur-trade era to life. — Terry Ward, Travel + Leisure, 17 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for festivals
  1. celebrations
  2. festivities
  3. fiestas
Noun
  • The weekend would include a lakefront welcome party at Westward, an intimate rehearsal dinner at a private club, a ceremony at a chapel near her home, and the rest of the celebrations in her family’s backyard.
    — Shelby Wax, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The Cinema Eye Honors, one of the main bellwethers for the Best Documentary Feature race, began its 20th annual celebrations with a first wave of awards announcements for its 2027 ceremony.
    — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of celebrations
Noun
  • Headlining the festivities is a halftime performance from Big Boi.
    — Gavin Godfrey, AJC.com, 21 Oct. 2026
  • But before its doors shutter for a while, the hotel is offering another year of holiday festivities, this time with a special twist thanks to an immersive collaboration with Parisian brand Repetto.
    — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of festivities
Noun
  • Spanish towns and cities also regularly honor local patron saints with fiestas.
    — Nicole Winfield, Chicago Tribune, 7 June 2026
  • Chile Brings Out the Big Guns Chile’s joyous presence as the Country of Honor at FICG meant panels, tributes, masterclasses and fiestas galore.
    — Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 26 Apr. 2026
Definition of fiestas

Browse Nearby Words

festival
festivals
festive
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Cite this Entry

“Festivals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/festivals. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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