dramatization
Americannoun
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dramatizations
plural
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the act of dramatizing.
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construction or representation in dramatic form.
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a dramatized version of a novel, historic incident, etc.
noun
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the reconstruction of an event, novel, story, etc in a form suitable for dramatic presentation
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the art or act of dramatizing
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dramatization
Explanation
A dramatization is the acting out of something. You see these a lot in documentaries. For example, there could be a dramatization of the JFK assassination, using actors to show what happened on that fateful day. If you watch a lot of true-crime shows, you probably regularly see dramatizations of dastardly deeds. Dramatization can also mean turning a novel into a movie or a play. Dramatization is a great way to cement learning. If you and your friends write a skit in biology class to show how photosynthesis works, you are much more likely to remember the process by which plants convert light into energy.
Vocabulary lists containing dramatization
Theater - Introductory
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Promises to Keep
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Theater - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But the film mistakes a chapter for the whole story, and a dramatization for the record.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
Dickinson offers no static picture of grief, but a poetic dramatization of grieving.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Part of the agreement stipulated that the alleged victim would never be pictured or mentioned in a dramatization of Jackson’s life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
Through this perspective, audiences remain engaged with the film’s events, told largely in chronological order, without any unnecessary frills or dramatization.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2025
When they learned it had been a dramatization, the family was thankful.
From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow
Unlike so many retellings of famous assassinations, attempted or otherwise, Harron’s movie gets to the heart of its subject’s discontent without dwelling on dramatizations of Solanas’ fragile psyche.
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026
“The Saints” examines its subjects as human beings, flaws and all, in dramatizations that have the kind of cinematic feel viewers expect from a Scorsese project.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 16, 2024
The dramatizations are nicely filmed, if a little hokey, and the overall velvety tone is peppered with piquant details, like Hall communicating with the Russians in a code derived from Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass.”
From New York Times ● Aug. 3, 2023
Anyone who has watched the many dramatizations of the queen’s life — including “The Crown” — or the coverage of her death is already well-versed in the problems of always maintaining a stiff upper lip.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 13, 2022
Another reporter inquired whether there should be a law against similar radio dramatizations.
From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
