carnival
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A traveling show.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kahrnuhvuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɑɹnəvəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
US
A traveling show; having sideshows and rides and games of skill etc.
us
A traveling amusement park, called a funfair in British English.
A festive occasion marked by parades and sometimes special foods and other entertainment.
Any of a number of festivals held just before the beginning of Lent.
The season just before the beginning of the Western Christian season of Lent.
figurative
A gaudily chaotic situation.
verb
literary
To move about playfully or wildly.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A traveling show; having sideshows and rides and games of skill etc.
Used this way, carnival is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use carnival
- “The town's annual carnival arrives every summer with many rides.”
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.