pageantry
Elaborate public display
Pageantry is elaborate ceremonial display—the costumes, processions, and spectacle of formal occasions.
Royal coronations and military parades are rich in pageantry.
The word suggests visual splendor with a touch of theater: the pageantry of the Olympic opening ceremony.
It can imply something impressive but perhaps hollow: Behind all the pageantry, the organization was in crisis.
Impressive splendor and scale
- splendorImpressive, striking beauty
- magnificenceImpressive beauty or scale
- opulenceShowy, abundant prosperity
- majestyImpressive supreme dignity
regalia · extravagance · lavishness · resplendence · ornateness · sumptuousness · ostentation · fanfare
Ceremony installing a sovereign
- inaugurationFormal beginning ceremony
- processionFormal moving line
- investitureCeremony conferring rank
- enthronementFormal investiture of sovereign
convocation · commencement · ordination · consecration · ritual · liturgy · benediction · observance
Remains on surface
- marchingRhythmic group walking
- processionFormal moving line
- carnivalTraveling amusement attraction
- festivalOrganized public celebration
banners · flags · drummers · baton · majorette · motorcade · cavalcade · confetti
Ceremonial emblems of authority
- robesLong loose outer garments
- gownsElegant full-length dresses
- sashesDecorative fabric bands worn
- headdressOrnamental head covering
crown · tiara · uniform · vestments · ermine · finery · attire · garb
Ceremonial chair for sovereigns
- crownSovereign's ornamental headpiece
- scepterCeremonial staff of sovereignty
- palaceMonarch's official residence
- courtTrial venue or sports surface
monarch · sovereign · nobility · dynasty · courtier · herald · ermine · coronet
Crowned contest winner
- contestantsCompetition participants
- judgesLegal proceeding overseers
- crowningInstalling as monarch
- talentInborn aptitude
winner · runner-up · sash · tiara · stage · rehearsal · choreography · poise
Inherited cultural legacy
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- time-honoredRespected due to age
- legacyWhat's passed down
continuity · commemoration · historical · ancestral · preservation · folklore · cultural · ancient
grandeur
Impressive splendor and scale
- splendorImpressive, striking beauty
- magnificenceImpressive beauty or scale
- opulenceShowy, abundant prosperity
majesty · regalia · extravagance · lavishness · resplendence · ornateness · sumptuousness · ostentation · fanfare · flourish
coronation
Ceremony installing a sovereign
- inaugurationFormal beginning ceremony
- processionFormal moving line
- investitureCeremony conferring rank
enthronement · convocation · commencement · ordination · consecration · ritual · liturgy · benediction · observance · solemnity
floats
Remains on surface
- marchingRhythmic group walking
- processionFormal moving line
- carnivalTraveling amusement attraction
festival · banners · flags · drummers · baton · majorette · motorcade · cavalcade · confetti · streamers
regalia
Ceremonial emblems of authority
headdress · crown · tiara · uniform · vestments · ermine · finery · attire · garb · ceremonial dress
throne
Ceremonial chair for sovereigns
- crownSovereign's ornamental headpiece
- scepterCeremonial staff of sovereignty
- palaceMonarch's official residence
court · monarch · sovereign · nobility · dynasty · courtier · herald · ermine · coronet · royal
beauty queen
Crowned contest winner
- contestantsCompetition participants
- judgesLegal proceeding overseers
- crowningInstalling as monarch
talent · winner · runner-up · sash · tiara · stage · rehearsal · choreography · poise · evening gown
heritage
Inherited cultural legacy
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- time-honoredRespected due to age
legacy · continuity · commemoration · historical · ancestral · preservation · folklore · cultural · ancient · ceremonial
- Court Entertainmentjesters, jester, court jester, court fool, fools
- joustingjoust, jousting, lance, tilt, tilting
- camphigh camp, kitsch, theatricality, flamboyance, exaggeration
- medieval lifechivalry, royal courts, jousting, knighthood, falconry
- medieval societyserfs, noble lineage, peasants, serf, heir
- carnivalparade, costume, float, ferris wheel, roller coaster
pageantrysimplicity
Lack of complexity
plainness · austerity · modesty · understatement · bareness
pageantryinformality
Relaxed, unofficial tone
casualness · ordinariness · mundanity · unpretentiousness · normalcy
pageantrysubstance
Physical material with mass
authenticity · genuineness · sincerity · unpretentiousness · humility
- beauty pageantAttractiveness and talent contest
- Christmas pageantsStaged holiday birth reenactments
- holiday pageantsCelebratory theatrical presentations
- church pageantReligious community theatrical event
- royal pageantryFormal monarchical display traditions
- pageant girlsCompetitors in beauty contests