documentary

American  

[dok-yuh-men-tuh-ree, -tree] / ˌdɒk yəˈmɛn tə ri, -tri /

adjective

1. Also documental pertaining to, consisting of, or derived from documents.

   a documentary history of France.

2. Movies, Television. based on or re-creating an actual event, era, life story, etc., that purports to be factually accurate and contains no fictional elements.

   a documentary life of Gandhi.

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noun

plural

documentaries

1. Movies, Television. a documentary film, radio or television program, etc.

documentary British  

/ ˌdɒkjʊˈmɛntərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

1. Also: documental.  consisting of, derived from, or relating to documents

2. presenting factual material with little or no fictional additions

   the book gives a documentary account of the war

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noun

1. a factual film or television programme about an event, person, etc, presenting the facts with little or no fiction

Other Word Forms

• documentarily adverb
• nondocumental adjective
• nondocumentary adjective
• predocumentary adjective
• semidocumentary adjective
• undocumentary adjective

Etymology

Origin of documentary

First recorded in 1795–1805; document + -ary

Explanation

A documentary is a film or video examining an event or person based on facts. The word can also refer to anything involving documents. The idea of documentary as meaning "pertaining to documents" came about at the beginning of the 19th century. Later, it came to mean a factual record of something. On PBS, you'll see lots of documentaries, about everything from baseball to war. Those documentaries are nonfiction films — they're showing true life. However, lots of fictional shows are filmed in a realistic documentary style. If you make a documentary about the U.S. Library of Congress, you'll be documenting lots of historical documents.

Example Sentences

In an interview for the documentary, Jacqueline said the problems with her aunt's care were compounded by financial concerns after she died.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

“He seemed like a level-headed person,” one friend says of Richard “Beebo” Russell, the subject of the documentary “#Skyking.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

“When Tiger was 10 months old, I unstrapped him out of his high chair and he walked over and hit the ball,” Earl recalled on an HBO documentary about his son.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

British journalist Louis Theroux, in his recent Netflix documentary “Inside the Manosphere,” exposes how Southern’s experience is hardly unique.

From Salon • Apr. 8, 2026

Her tears have turned to anger, the kind of rant she and Kat might have gone on after watching some documentary.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

Related Words

• broadcast
• feature
• film
• narrative