docudrama

[ dok-yuh-drah-muh, -dram-uh ]

noun

, Television.

1. a fictionalized drama based primarily on actual events.

docudrama

/ ˈdɒkjʊˌdrɑːmə /

noun

1. a film or television programme based on true events, presented in a dramatized form

Other Words From

• doc·u·dram·a·tist [dok, -y, uh, -dram-, uh, -tist, -drah-m, uh, -], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of docudrama¹

First recorded in 1960–65; docu(mentary) + drama

Example Sentences

You could argue that at least the new wave of docudramas is educating viewers about current events and recent history.

From Time

Such blurring of fact and fiction is endemic on TV these days, thanks to a spike in the production of docudramas, many of which center on larger-than-life newsmakers.

From Time

Featured playwrights in the docudrama include, among others, Helen Hayes Award winner Dane Figueroa Edidi, Farah Lawal Harris, Teshonne Nicole Powell, and Karen Zacarías.

From Washington Blade

Over the phone, she tells me how NYC Prep was sold to her and her similarly privileged peers as a docudrama.

From The Daily Beast

Perhaps because it has been covered so exhaustively, even the 9/11 chapter seems like a docudrama we've already watched.

From The Daily Beast

Sarah Palin and reality-TV titan Mark Burnett are about to collaborate on a “docudrama” about Alaska?

From The Daily Beast

Related Words

• broadcast
• feature
• film
• narrative