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

Explanation

A documentary is a film or video examining an event or person based on facts. The word can also refer to anything involving documents. The idea of documentary as meaning "pertaining to documents" came about at the beginning of the 19th century. Later, it came to mean a factual record of something. On PBS, you'll see lots of documentaries, about everything from baseball to war. Those documentaries are nonfiction films — they're showing true life. However, lots of fictional shows are filmed in a realistic documentary style. If you make a documentary about the U.S. Library of Congress, you'll be documenting lots of historical documents.

Example Sentences

A Prime Video documentary revisits the career of the legendary Laker, whose image inspired the NBA logo and who was, despite his angsty nature, tremendously successful as both a player and a manager.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

It was not a gotcha sort of documentary.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

The trial was annulled in May 2025 after it emerged that one of the judges overseeing the trial was involved in a documentary about the case, potentially breaking ethics rules.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

Fifty years ago Paris-Roubaix was featured in what would become a cult documentary among cycling fans called A Sunday in Hell.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

The BBC documentary had suggested that the existence of so much ash in Nebraska was a surprise.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• broadcast
• feature
• film
• narrative