What does festive mean?
Word: Festive
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Festive means bright and happy in the way a celebration is.
Synonyms: joyful, merry
Antonyms: dull
How do you spell festive?
Syllables: fes - tive
Tricky part: The word ends with a v sound, and English words almost never end in a plain v, so a silent e follows it. Festiv is a common slip.
Watch out for: festiv, festeve
Memory tip: Give the v a friend at the end of the word: a silent e always stands beside it.
Festive in a sentence
Example 1: The whole street looked festive for the summer fair, with balloons tied to every gate.
Example 2: Mum wore a festive red dress to my cousin's wedding.
Example 3: There was a festive mood in school on the last day before the holidays.
Fun Fact
Festive goes back to the Latin word for a feast, so good food has been part of the idea from the very start.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
feastive
a) t
b) e
c) a
d) s
Show answer
c) a. Festive may remind you of feast, but there is no a in it.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word: festive
a) crowded
b) noisy
c) gloomy
d) colourful
Show answer
c) gloomy. A festive mood is bright and happy; a gloomy one is dark and sad.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
vifeets
a) vestige
b) festive
c) restive
d) invites
Show answer
b) festive. The f settles it: restive begins with r, vestige needs a g, and invites needs an n and a second i.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) celebrasion
b) decoraition
c) festive
d) joyus
Show answer
c) festive. Decoration has no i after the a, celebration is spelt with tion, and joyous needs an o before the us.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these would give a street a festive look?
a) rows of shops with shutters down
b) heaps of fallen leaves on the road
c) a fresh coat of plain grey paint
d) strings of lights and paper flags
Show answer
d) strings of lights and paper flags
2. After the result was read out, the classroom had a festive feel. What had probably happened?
a) The class had to stay late to tidy up.
b) The class had won the inter-school quiz.
c) The class had a surprise maths test.
d) The classroom fan had stopped working.
Show answer
b) The class had won the inter-school quiz.
