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metanarrative

British

/ ˈmɛtəˌnærətɪv /

noun

(in postmodernist literary theory) a narrative about a narrative or narratives

"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

Etymology

Origin of metanarrative

C20: from _meta- + _narrative

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.

The effect of the metanarrative is to juxtapose Byron’s violent passions with the careful, repressed behavior of one who hoped to capture him in literature.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025

But what about Dua Lipa, who has loads of hits but maybe no metanarrative?

From New York Times • Mar. 13, 2024

Inscryption is a deck-building card-battling roguelike but with a fantastically dark and mysterious metanarrative that elevates it from “interesting” to “utterly engrossing.”

From The Verge • Jun. 23, 2022

Ben, you also have a good point about the metanarrative around Cyberpunk.

From Slate • Dec. 23, 2020

All of this falls under the metanarrative of an attack on collectivism.

From Salon • Feb. 4, 2016

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023