scenario

American  

[si-nair-ee-oh, -nahr-] / sɪˈnɛər iˌoʊ, -ˈnɑr- /

noun

• scenarios
  plural

1. an outline of the plot of a dramatic work, giving particulars as to the scenes, characters, situations, etc.

2. the outline or the manuscript of a motion picture or television program, giving the action in the order in which it takes place, the description of scenes and characters, etc.

3. an imagined or projected sequence of events, especially any of several detailed plans or possibilities.

   One scenario calls for doubling profits by increasing our advertising, the other by reducing costs.

   Synonyms:

   sketch, concept, plan, scheme

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scenario British  

/ sɪˈnɑːrɪˌəʊ, sɪˈnɑː- /

noun

1. a summary of the plot of a play, etc, including information about its characters, scenes, etc

2. a predicted sequence of events

   let's try another scenario, involving the demise of democracy

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• scenarist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• scenarios
  plural

Etymology

Origin of scenario

First recorded in 1875–80; from Italian, from Latin scaenārium, scēnārium, noun use of scaenārius, scēnārius “belonging to the stage, theatrical,” from scaen(a), scēn(a) “background, stage, theater” ( see scene) + -ārius -ary

Explanation

A scenario is a specific possibility. To plan on playing with a bunch of bear cubs is a scenario — a dumb one, but still a scenario. When people are wondering what to do, they think of different scenarios. Moving to a big city is one scenario — moving to a tiny town is another. A football team has to plan for many scenarios, like the starting quarterback being injured. The government plans for hundreds of scenarios, such as natural disasters and attacks by terrorists. In literature, a scenario can mean a summing up of what's going on — what the situation is. A scenario is pretty similar to a situation, but a scenario hasn't happened yet and might not happen at all.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scenario scenarios

That’s pretty bad, but it’s also a pretty realistic scenario.

From Slate ● Oct. 5, 2026

“I think there’s a scenario where people would actually benefit from having this a couple times a year, if not more,” said Mishra, noting the value of regular checks of body composition and cardiometabolic biomarkers.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

A war was an unlikely scenario then, said Andrew Burtch, a researcher with the Canadian War Museum with expertise on Canada in the 20th Century, but the Canadians still wanted to be prepared.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

The aerospace giant on Monday said it had "informed all 737 operators about a software issue where pilots may not have access to automated flight guidance during a specific landing scenario."

From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026

The American Bottom, in this scenario, was the site of one of the world's most spectacular tent revivals.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Menin started her questions of executives by asking about the probability of worst-case scenarios, like those raised by Coxon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Instead, the model helps reveal which earthquake scenarios may be physically plausible given the current state of the fault system.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

“The river has the capacity to go dry even in scenarios when there are very few diversions or overpumping.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Trusts are usually written in very conditional, flexible language to account for all future possible scenarios and last through several generations of trustees and beneficiaries.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

Up to that point, Hubler’s bet had been “stress tested” for scenarios in which subprime pools experienced losses of 6 percent, the highest losses from recent history.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• plot
• scheme