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.

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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

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noun

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

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

Williams has spoken of them "riding again" and says he "absolutely loved" the documentary, adding that he had "overwhelming feeling of how much I love the boys".

From BBC

In a statement after watching the film's trailer, John and Susan Letby said they did not plan to watch the documentary.

From Barron's

While watching the documentary, Williams was filmed by his wife typing in the number but was met with a "this number is not recognised" automated message.

From BBC

The documentary makers had exclusive access to the key investigators at Cheshire Police, who spent years building the case against Letby.

From BBC

In our final conversation for the documentary, I asked Farage what the downside of the party's recent success had been.

From BBC

Related Words

• broadcast
• feature
• film
• narrative