1
as in cheerfulness
a mood characterized by high spirits and amusement and often accompanied by laughter
rather than mourn our friend's death we celebrated his life, and his memorial service was more notable for its festivity than its funereal gloom
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in celebration
a time or program of special events and entertainment in honor of something
year-long festivities will mark the 300th anniversary of the city's founding
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in merrymaking
joyful or festive activity
in keeping with their habit of doing everything in a big way, the couple's wedding will entail a whole weekend of festivity
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of festivity
Midway through the first night of festivities, Venable sat in a cushy chair on the intimate theater’s stage.
—
Cody Stavenhagen, The Athletic, 20 Feb. 2025
The festivities will continue with surprise appearances from Saturday Night Live alums, Molly Shannon and Rachel Dratch, who present her with the Guinness World Record title for being the youngest host of the sketch comedy show.
—Esther Kang, People.com, 20 Feb. 2025
The special was part reflection, part reunion and a culmination of festivities that began on Friday with a concert.
—Nick Duffy, NBC News, 16 Feb. 2025
The festivities include a strong lineup of Louisiana-native artists to celebrate the host city.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 9 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for festivity
Cody Stavenhagen, The Athletic, 20 Feb. 2025
The festivities will continue with surprise appearances from Saturday Night Live alums, Molly Shannon and Rachel Dratch, who present her with the Guinness World Record title for being the youngest host of the sketch comedy show.
—Esther Kang, People.com, 20 Feb. 2025
The special was part reflection, part reunion and a culmination of festivities that began on Friday with a concert.
—Nick Duffy, NBC News, 16 Feb. 2025
The festivities include a strong lineup of Louisiana-native artists to celebrate the host city.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 9 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for festivity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for festivity
Noun
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That glee in the face of pain may come back to haunt Trump.—
Maureen Dowd,
The Mercury News,
25 Feb. 2025
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Her glee is deeper than that, and on this night, it was shared by scores of school faculty, administrators, students and alums, some in their 80s, who squeezed into crammed quarters for an up-close peek of the now merging with the future.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacramento Bee,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
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That festival is no more but there are plenty of others, notably the two decade-old Flytime Fest in Lagos, which is stellar for cool crowds, energizing performances and overall pride in the musical genius of Africa.—
Baz Dreisinger,
Forbes,
22 Feb. 2025
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This year’s festival was Tricia Tuttle’s first at the helm.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
22 Feb. 2025
Noun
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In fact, ancient Romans celebrated the day with a fertility festival with animal sacrifices and drunken merrymaking.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA TODAY,
13 Feb. 2025
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For the Ryman show, that bit of merrymaking fell to Crow, Larkin Poe and Tuttle as Starr sang and drummed.—
Nancy Kruh,
People.com,
17 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Outside the building in downtown Washington, D.C., a line of demonstrators broke into applause and cheers as each employee left the building.—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman,
USA TODAY,
28 Feb. 2025
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Molinar drew applause and cheers from the audience during two notable moments.—
Lina Ruiz,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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And Birds revelry reached a fever pitch in Philadelphia Friday for the Eagles' Super Bowl parade.—
Isaac Avilucea,
Axios,
14 Feb. 2025
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Simon’s Bar & Cafe was a favorite of legislative staffers and lobbyists from 1984 until its closure in November 2023, the go-to spot for end-of-session revelry and late-night plates of Chinese food.—
Benjy Egel,
Sacramento Bee,
19 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Cutting off booze is especially popular in January as people look to wind down from the drinking, eating and merriment of the holidays.—
Erica Pandey,
Axios,
8 Jan. 2025
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The epic weeklong celebration of golf and merriment was derailed in 2024 by rain, frost, mud and congestion.—
Candace Oehler,
Forbes,
27 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Sign up Eating and drinking (Image credit: Riverside Luxury Cruises) The first thing to say about eating on The Ravel is that there is no Captain's Table or forced jollity with other passengers.—
James Rampton,
theweek,
6 Nov. 2024
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While the jollity may look a bit different from city to city, these global destinations keep the holiday cheer going year after year.—
Caitlin Morton,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 Nov. 2023
Noun
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His formidable rich voice voice always carried the gaiety of a comic opera basso.—
John Mariani,
Forbes,
27 Nov. 2024
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Françoise wanders away from us, from the room, into her own thoughts, solemn yet full of gaiety.—
Carlos Valladares,
ARTnews.com,
27 June 2024
Articles Related to festivity
Cite this Entry
“Festivity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/festivity. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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