pageant

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A large public show with costumes, music and a parade or staged scenes, often telling a story from a community's past.

   Grammar: Usually takes an or the: the town held a pageant; plural pageants.

   Patterns

   • a pageant of something
   • a pageant to celebrate something

   Every summer the village stages a pageant about its medieval founding.

   Hundreds of children in paper crowns marched through the square in the Christmas pageant.

   The history pageant ended with a fireworks display over the river.

2. 2nouncountable

   A contest in which contestants are judged on appearance, poise and sometimes talent, and one is crowned the winner.

   Grammar: Often a modifier in compounds: a beauty pageant, a pageant winner.

   Patterns

   • win a pageant
   • enter a pageant

   She entered her first pageant at sixteen and won the talent round.

   The regional pageant raises money for the local hospital.

   Some people criticize the pageant for judging women mostly on looks.

3. 3nounsingularliteraryfigurative

   A rich and colorful display or series of events that is impressive to watch, used of something that is not an organized show.

   Grammar: Usually followed by of: a pageant of autumn color.

   Patterns

   • a pageant of something

   The documentary offers a pageant of life on the African plains.

   Autumn brought a pageant of reds and golds to the hills.

Word forms

Common combinations

beauty pageant

The beauty pageant drew contestants from across the state.

stage a pageant

The church stages a pageant every December.

historical pageant

The historical pageant showed the castle's siege in 1450.

nativity pageant

My niece played a shepherd in the nativity pageant.

pageant winner

The pageant winner received a scholarship.

Synonyms and how they differ

parade

A parade is simply a moving procession, whereas a pageant usually adds costumes, scenes or a story.

spectacle

Spectacle stresses how striking something is to look at, while pageant suggests an organized, often traditional, show.

procession

A procession is a line of people moving together in order, with no need for the staging or storytelling a pageant has.

contest

Contest is a general word for any competition, but pageant narrows it to one judged on looks and personal presentation.

Word family

pageantry noun

elaborate, colorful ceremony and display

pageant master noun

the person who organizes and directs a pageant

pageant play noun

a dramatic show staged outdoors, often on local history

Commonly confused: pageant or parade?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “pageant”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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