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festively

festively

1 3.3
In a bright, happy way that shows celebration
  • adverb
  • /ˈfɛstəvli/
translation icon : festivamente
  • Dress festively every morning.
  • festively decorated
  • festively dressed
  • festively wrapped

Examples

  • Artie the Swede sat at a large oak table in the festively decorated smorgasbord.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Do you keep your family festively stylish during the holidays?

    Blog text (17)
  • It's so festively presented too.

  • We had arrived in time for a late lunch and were all sitting around a festively decorated table at a local restaurant.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • For those that can't see, we're all festively adorned in Christmas jumpers.

  • Created and maintained by a local women's club, it is a special oasis for festively marked and colored winged beauties.

    Blog text (20)
  • ... and sat in what appeared to be a full house, festively decorated with Brooklyn-themed signs and banners—no doubt a Spike Lee touch.

    Blog text (5)
  • There were lures everywhere, gaudy and sharp, some in the ferns, some up in the white birches, others hanging festively off the pines.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The Cherry Creek shopping district shimmers with white lights and festively decorated windows.

  • I was watching the bride celebrating at the head of the dance line as it festively wound through the tables.

Synonyms

happily
vsfestively
279 1.0

Do something in a cheerful way

is used when something suits a celebration more than simple happiness
merrily
vsfestively
23 1.0

In a cheerful, lively way that shows happiness

is used when something matches a celebration or party context
gleefully
vsfestively
19 3.0

With great joy and excitement

is used to describe things that suit a party or celebration
joyfully
vsfestively
11 1.1

In a very happy way that shows delight

is used when something suits a celebration rather than general joy
joyously
vsfestively
5 3.0

In a way that shows great happiness and excitement

is used when something fits a festival or celebration setting
gaily
vsfestively
5 5.2

In a cheerful, lively way that shows happiness

is used when something is suitable for a celebration or festival
cheerily
vsfestively
3 2.5

In a happy, friendly way

is used when something fits a celebration instead of daily cheer
jubilantly
vsfestively
1 5.3

In a way that shows great joy and excitement

is used more for actions fitting a celebration or festival
convivially
vsfestively
6.8

In a friendly, lively, and enjoyable way

is used when something suits a celebration or public festival
gayly
vsfestively
  • Archaic
7.0

In a happy, lively way that shows joy

is used to describe things fitting a celebration rather than plain joy

Antonyms

1 4.6

In a sad way that shows a person is sorry

How Festive

gaily
5 5.2
festively
1 3.3
cheerfully
34 1.0
pleasantly
50 1.0
quietly
517 1.0

Surface Forms

festively positive

Morphology

festively = festive (transparent) = festive + ly

Formed regularly by adding the productive adverbial suffix '-ly' to the adjective 'festive', producing the meaning 'in a festive manner'.

Etymology

Festively comes from festive, which goes back to the Latin festus meaning 'feast' or 'festival', and the ending -ly makes it describe how something is done. So, to do something festively is to do it like a happy party, with joy and celebration.