drama

[ drah-muh, dram-uh ]
See synonyms for drama on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a composition in prose or verse presenting in dialogue or pantomime a story involving conflict or contrast of character, especially one intended to be acted on the stage; a play.

  2. the branch of literature having such compositions as its subject; dramatic art or representation.

  1. the art dealing with the writing and production of plays.

  2. any situation or series of events having vivid, emotional, conflicting, or striking interest or results: the drama of a murder trial.

  3. the quality of being dramatic.

Origin of drama

1
First recorded in 1505–15; from Late Latin, from Greek drâma “action (of a play),” from drá(ein), drâ(n) “to act, do” + -ma, noun suffix

Other words from drama

  • min·i·dra·ma, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use drama in a sentence

  • My father picks out the best parts of the best dramas and we often read them together, evenings.

    Dorothy at Skyrie | Evelyn Raymond
  • Life is packed with little unheard of dramas of precisely the same sort—the eternal duet of sex; nothing else keeps it going.

    Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
  • The second cause was that the young German writers required a model for writing their own dramas.

  • You shall go there, a little later, to see the classic dramas of a young man from Rouen, named Corneille.

  • Yet these dramas are almost the only satisfactory expression of that historical faculty which I believe is latent in us.

    The Saint's Tragedy | Charles Kingsley

British Dictionary definitions for drama

drama

/ (ˈdrɑːmə) /


noun
  1. a work to be performed by actors on stage, radio, or television; play

  2. the genre of literature represented by works intended for the stage

  1. the art of the writing and production of plays

  2. a situation or sequence of events that is highly emotional, tragic, or turbulent

Origin of drama

1
C17: from Late Latin: a play, from Greek: something performed, from drān to do

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012