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Synonyms

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.

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
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

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.

Louis Theroux, the British TV host and documentary filmmaker, made a movie about the Church of Scientology without quite knowing what he was in for.

From Salon

Reform has definitely moved into a different era from their heady ascent in the polls last year, grappling with more scrutiny, as we reported on in our documentary, Reform: Ready to Rule?

From BBC

Norman, who was 25 years old during filming, was one of 10,000 people who applied to what they believed was a documentary project about a small business.

From Los Angeles Times

From my experiences filming the documentary, in many cases what happens at school is seen as being secondary, with the academy taking over and becoming the main focus of the child and his family's life.

From BBC

Netflix's deal with BTS includes exclusive rights to live stream the show, as well as a documentary on the band's reunion - a marketing triumph given the billions it has pumped into Korean entertainment.

From BBC

Definitions 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.