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

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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

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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

The researchers also developed a scenario explaining how this mixing could have occurred, with Jupiter emerging as a key player.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

That essentially prices in a scenario where the vaccine works across several tumors and becomes nearly as big as Keytruda, the world’s bestselling cancer drug.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

But he refused to rule out what he called a "doomsday scenario."

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

This is not a suggestion for action, but rather something worth running as a scenario.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026

He’s building a fictional earthquake scenario in Miami.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

Schools often adopt “cookie cutter” risk-management programs to fulfill compliance, but they emphasize legal definitions and lack cultural relevance and specific scenarios, Vitchers said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

Surveillance footage and photos spurred hope their 10-year-old pup lost roughly 1,000 miles from home would be located, but the worst-case scenarios seemed just as plausible.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

The Fed seems to be facing two distinct scenarios.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 17, 2026

A tax adviser would be best able to run through all the scenarios.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

“It is not in our programming to make unfounded guesses based on scenarios where we do not yet have adequate data,” Journey answers.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

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Related Words

• plot
• scheme

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