documentary
Americanadjective
-
Also documental pertaining to, consisting of, or derived from documents.
a documentary history of France.
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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
documentariesadjective
-
Also: documental. consisting of, derived from, or relating to documents
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presenting factual material with little or no fictional additions
the book gives a documentary account of the war
noun
Other Word Forms
- documentarily adverb
- nondocumental adjective
- nondocumentary adjective
- predocumentary adjective
- semidocumentary adjective
- undocumentary adjective
Etymology
Origin of documentary
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.
On screen, one of the films dealing with the global ramifications of the conflict -- past and present -- is the documentary "Who Killed Alex Odeh?"
From Barron's
Most of this year’s documentary nominees deal with the grimmest of tragedies, as in “All the Empty Rooms” and “Children No More: Were and Are Gone,” which address the remembrance of children brutally killed.
From Los Angeles Times
The documentary, which focuses on Paul McCartney’s first decade in the wake of The Beatles’ breakup, “sounds amazing on the big screen.”
From Salon
“EPiC” sticks to the surer footing of documentary footage: the man himself performing over two dozen tunes — including “That’s All Right,” “Burning Love” and “In the Ghetto” — plus twice that number on the background soundtrack.
From Los Angeles Times
It’s a shame that the documentary didn’t find a few more moments of that kind.
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.
