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

Educational and child psychologist Dr Sasha Hall, who's mum to a three-year-old boy and five-year-old girl, says the first thing to understand is that this scenario is "completely normal".

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Puerto focuses on a more common scenario: As documented in “The Turnaway Study,” people who seek and are denied abortions are likely to struggle with poverty, debt, underemployment, and troubles with physical and mental health.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

The format has not been formally approved, but one scenario would give the top eight seeded teams a first-round bye and a home game in the second round.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

“Gas prices may continue to test higher short term, but bearish long-term fundamentals in the most likely scenario are little changed.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Just to be perfectly clear: Bobby Gene and I were the dogs in this scenario.

From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon

“There’s no denying: execution risk seems high, and bearish scenarios imply >50% downside potential,” Potter wrote.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

“Those are scenarios of varying levels of catastrophe, and that’s kind of how I’ve been seeing speculative fiction lately.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

Lizzy says she knows there are many "scenarios in which it doesn't pay off" for people to repay it early.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

According to the first study, climate change is projected to continue shrinking and destabilising the Himalayan monal's habitat across the Indian Himalayas through 2100 under multiple climate scenarios.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Any number of scenarios could lead to a bad discipline report, he pointed out.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater

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Related Words

• plot
• scheme

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