celebration

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

Commemoration

Nouns

1. celebration, solemnization, jubilee, commemoration; ovation, paean (See approbation); triumph, jubilation; rite. See rejoicing, ostentation, amusement.

2. (sign of celebration) bonfire, salute, salvo; flourish [of trumpets], fanfare, colors flying, illuminations, fireworks; trophy, triumphal arch; Christmas tree, Hanukkah bush, etc.

3. (celebratory event) fete, festival, festivity, gala, gala occasion, holiday (See regularity); parade, callithump; party, love-in; harvest home; red-letter day; thanksgiving; inauguration, coronation, etc. (See repute). Slang, jamboree, punch.

Verbs

1. celebrate, keep, signalize, honor, do honor to, commemorate, solemnize, memorialize, hallow, observe, mark.

2. (have a celebration) pledge, drink to, toast; rejoice, make merry, kill the fatted calf, hold jubilee, jubilate, kick up one's heels. See rejoicing.

Adjectives — celebrated, famous (See repute); celebratory, commemorative; festive, gala.

Adverbs — in memory of, in honor of, to the greater glory of.

Quotations — The secret anniversaries of the heart (Longfellow), Tomorrow 'ill be the happiest time of all (Lord Tennyson).

Antonyms, See indifference, lamentation.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [An act or instance of recognizing an occasion]

Syn. commemoration, observance, honoring, keeping, glorification, magnification, laudation, recognition, anniversary, jubilee, holiday, remembrance, ceremonial, solemnization, memorialization, solemnity, fete, Mardi Gras, birthday, centennial, centenary, bicentennial, bicentenary, tricentennial, tercentenary, millennium, fiesta, red-letter day; see also holiday 1 .

2. [Activities that accompany a celebration]

Syn. ceremony, party, gala, inauguration, installation, coronation, presentation, pageantry, carnival, bacchanal, revelry, conviviality, spree, carousing, jubilation, jollification, festivity, festival, feast, jamboree, ovation, triumph, merrymaking, gaiety, frolic, hilarity, joviality, merriment, mirth, wassail, Saturnalia, bash*; see also carnival 1 , ceremony 2 , party 1 .

Ant. sadness, solemnity, sorrow.

3. [The celebration of the Mass]

Syn. reading, reciting, singing, conducting, performing, intoning, chanting, praising God; see also worship 1 .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

1. commemoration observance, ceremony, honoring, memorial, remembrance, anniversary.

2. party *blowout, fiesta, gala, jubilee, *bash, *wingding, festival, spree, frolic, *blast, *rumpus, revelry.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun 1. The act of observing a day or an event with ceremonies: commemoration, observance. See REMEMBER. 2. The act of showing joyful satisfaction in an event: festivity, merrymaking, rejoicing, revel (often used in plural), revelry. See LAUGHTER. 3. A big, exuberant party: shindig, shindy. Slang: bash, blast, blowout. See GROUP, RESTRAINT, WORK. 4. A large or important social gathering: affair, festivity, fete, function, gala, occasion, party, soiree. Informal: do. Slang: bash. See GROUP, WORK. 5. An expression of warm approval: acclaim, acclamation, applause, commendation, compliment, encomium, eulogy, kudos, laudation, panegyric, plaudit, praise. See PRAISE.