festivity

/fɛˈstɪvəti/

//fɛˈstɪvəti// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"festivity" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“festivity” is uncommon English (frequency #50,511 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,511
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A festival or similar celebration.

Corpus desk

Index EN-festivity · festivity · English

festivity · rank #50,511 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #50,511
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fertilisation

Nearest frequency peer: fertilisation (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “festivity”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “festivity” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for festivity
PropertyValue
Headwordfestivity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fɛˈstɪvəti/
Letters9
Frequency rank#50,511
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “festivity” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).festivityfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “fertilisation” (#50,510), “FFP” (#50,512), “ferrying” (#50,509). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “festivity” is #50,511. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

festivity is uncommon English at frequency #50,511 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /fɛˈstɪvəti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

festivity has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English festivite, from Middle French festivité, from Latin festīvitas, equivalent to festive + -ity. The correct English form is festivity, spelled F-E-S-T-I-V-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A festival or similar celebration.
  2. 2
    An experience or expression of celebratory feeling, merriment, gaiety.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how festivity appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Other parts of the ceremony have their unpleasantnesses; for there is great difficulty in admittings and omittings of guests to the festivities.
  2. […] cosmeticky women whose tight jeans and stiletto heels suggest a kind of festivity but whose faces seem stunned […]

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English festivite, from Middle French festivité, from Latin festīvitas, equivalent to festive + -ity.

Antonyms

infestivity

This word in other languages

festividad(Español)festivité(Français)Fest(Deutsch)festividade(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "festivity"?
"festivity" is spelled F-E-S-T-I-V-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /fɛˈstɪvəti/.
What does "festivity" mean?
As a noun, "festivity" means: A festival or similar celebration.
How do you pronounce "festivity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "festivity" is /fɛˈstɪvəti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "festivity"?
Inherited from Middle English festivite, from Middle French festivité, from Latin festīvitas, equivalent to festive + -ity. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "festivity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

fairtrade#50,504expletive#50,500Gravesend#50,542draftsman#50,479

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list