Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for documentary

documentary

[dok-yuh-men-tuh-ree, -tree]

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

/ ˌdɒkjʊˈmɛntərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

  1. Also: documentalconsisting 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
Discover More

Other Word Forms

  • documentarily adverb
  • nondocumental adjective
  • nondocumentary adjective
  • predocumentary adjective
  • semidocumentary adjective
  • undocumentary adjective
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of documentary1

First recorded in 1795–1805; document + -ary
Discover More

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.

Then, she stumbled on a documentary that highlighted the benefits of kratom in regards to chronic pain and mental health.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Re-creating moments shown or discussed in documentaries, podcasts and in the frenzy of news coverage about the case felt like an important piece of the dramatization for Clarke.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The recent New Yorker documentary “Rovina’s Choice” opens with scenes of hot blowing sand and drone footage of the Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya, home to about 300,000 people.

Read more on Salon

He recalls its emphasis on music and quirkiness—including a science teacher who had been interviewed for a UFO documentary and sports coaches who sang in the open-air hallways.

War in Ukraine, and the hazardous role of the journalists who document it, fills the frame in two new documentaries.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Advertisement

Related Words

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


documentariandocumentation