diegetic

American  

[dahy-uh-jet-ik] / ˌdaɪ əˈdʒɛt ɪk /

adjective

1. (of a story) told by a narrator.

   Interspersed throughout the movie are diegetic scenes in which the offscreen present-day protagonist comments—usually scathingly—on the behavior of his former self.

2. happening within or being the created world of a story.

   Diegetic sound—the creaking timbers of a ship at sea, the cries of gulls on the beach—pulls the viewer into the world of the movie.

   In the Marvel cinematic universe, multiple separate superhero films take place within a single diegetic world.

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Etymology

Origin of diegetic

First recorded in 1895–1900; from Greek diēgētikόs “(pertaining to a) narrative”

Example Sentences

Every body slap and stomp is part of the rhythm and the music of it, because it couldn’t just be where diegetic audio fades out and then there’s this great, wonderful piece.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 19, 2025

The music, in this case, arises not from a conventional score, but rather from the diegetic accompaniments of soup bubbling in a pot, butter sizzling in a pan and utensils scraping against crockery.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2023

In this age of overused needle drops, this song's diegetic presence is as flawlessly applied as Frank's seduction.

From Salon • Jan. 30, 2023

When the film is buoyant, it is through its blending of diegetic music and traditional scoring to create the auditory equivalent of a tracking shot.

From New York Times • Jul. 28, 2022

Transferring any story from screen to stage is a big lift, and the addition of diegetic music—the dreaded-by-some “people randomly bursting into song” effect—raises the degree of difficulty even higher.

From Slate • May 21, 2021