documentary

American  

[dok-yuh-men-tuh-ree, -tree] / ˌdɒk jəˈmɛn 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

documentaries plural

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• documentaries
  plural

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 If you make a documentary about the U.S. Library of Congress, you'll be documenting lots of historical documents.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

See Examples For:

documentary documentaries

Towards the end of the documentary film in archive footage, the Careless Whisper singer describes the China trip as "a bit of a nightmare", while also recognising their significance.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

In the 2025 Netflix documentary “Don’t Die,” Tolo admitted that she used to frequent McDonald’s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

"I thought I was dead," he told a Disney+ documentary last year.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Meanwhile, posted filming notices and load-ins of film and sound equipment at MSG sparked rumors of a documentary about the wedding.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

Now he’s one of Edward James Olmos’s best friends and was in the documentary we watched called Lives in Hazard.

From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers

Ridgeley remains involved in preserving the band's legacy through documentaries including the 2023 Netflix film Wham! and Last Christmas Unwrapped in 2024.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Other highlights include coverage from UK festivals and live music events, documentaries celebrating Madonna, Wham! and David Bowie and performances from artists such as Charli XCX and Sam Smith.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

Articulate and sincere, he makes this journey worth taking even for those not devoted to cult documentaries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

Bilton is the author of two New York Times bestsellers, served as special correspondent at Vanity Fair and has worked as a producer and executive producer on several documentaries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

There are Olympic-style documentaries showing photos and videos of each of tonight’s players.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

Related Words

• broadcast
• feature
• film
• narrative