diorama

American  

[dahy-uh-ram-uh, -rah-muh] / ˌdaɪ əˈræm ə, -ˈrɑ mə /

noun

• dioramas
  plural

1. a scene, often in miniature, reproduced in three dimensions by placing objects, figures, etc., in front of a painted background.

2. a life-size display representing a scene from nature, a historical event, or the like, using stuffed wildlife, wax figures, real objects, etc., in front of a painted or photographed background.

3. a spectacular picture, partly translucent, for exhibition through an aperture, made more realistic by various illuminating devices.

4. a building or room, often circular, for exhibiting such a scene or picture, especially as a continuous unit along or against the walls.

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diorama British  

/ ˌdaɪəˈrɑːmə /

noun

1. a miniature three-dimensional scene, in which models of figures are seen against a background

2. a picture made up of illuminated translucent curtains, viewed through an aperture

3. a museum display, as of an animal, of a specimen in its natural setting

4. films a scene produced by the rearrangement of lighting effects

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dioramic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dioramas
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of diorama

1815–25; < French, equivalent to di- di- ³ + Greek ( h ) órāma view ( horā-, variant stem of horân to see, look + -ma noun suffix denoting the result of action)

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Explanation

If you use a shoebox and tiny toys to recreate the Battle of Normandy, you are creating a diorama, or three-dimensional model, of the event. At the Museum of Natural History in New York, you'll see dioramas, or scenes of animals or ancient peoples in their habitats. Before things like movies, television, and computers became common, the best way for large numbers of people to get an idea of what a lion might look like devouring its prey was by diorama.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

diorama dioramas

I took a mat next to the American black bears and American badgers, only slightly jealous that the mats next to the large-scale walrus diorama were taken.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

"It successfully generated enough formic acid to power a miniature diorama in the pavilion, showing its potential as an efficient artificial photosynthesis system that could potentially be used to charge applications in our homes."

From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026

Yet his compulsion to embrace the world’s majesty in the manner of an illustrated weekly or a Victorian diorama conflicted with the project of capturing the poetry of untamed America.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

In a diorama pitting the carnivorous Acrocanthosaurus against the massive plant-eating Astrodon, it is the larger sauropod that triumphs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2025

There might be a neat pop-up book, or a dinosaur diorama that I could add to my collection.

From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English

In “Cinema”—the flashy “Star Wars” section highlighting storyboards, set photography, models, props and life-size dioramas starring costumed characters and their vehicles—the Lucas is most at home.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Instead of being positioned before crisp backgrounds like static dioramas, they’re backed by blurry freeze frames that yearn to be in motion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

The early pieces that established his reputation were dioramas of local spots around Grangeville, such as a tattoo parlor, a pawn show and a Dairy Queen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026

They peg him as an inveterate showman who is less interested in Russia and China than dioramas of the new White House ballroom or a Triumphal Arch near the Lincoln Memorial.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025

He did not take any interest in the discarded skins of famous goblin heroes and actors, despite all of the interesting dioramas.

From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin

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