scenario

[ si-nair-ee-oh, -nahr- ]
See synonyms for: scenarioscenarios on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural sce·nar·i·os.
  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.

  1. 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.

Origin of scenario

1
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

Other words for scenario

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use scenario in a sentence

  • She had never given herself airs because of her success in writing scenarios.

    Ruth Fielding At College | Alice B. Emerson
  • He submitted scenarios of several operas to a French poet, and there, for all practical purposes, the business ended.

    Richard Wagner | John F. Runciman
  • Ruths success as a writer of moving-picture scenarios of the better class had already become established.

  • One of her romantic scenarios had been screened at the Red Mill and on the picturesque Lumano and along its banks.

  • He has a staff of eight writers whose sole duty is the preparation of scenarios for production.

    Practical Cinematography and Its Applications | Frederick Arthur Ambrose Talbot

British Dictionary definitions for scenario

scenario

/ (sɪˈnɑːrɪˌəʊ) /


nounplural -narios
  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

Origin of scenario

1
C19: via Italian from Latin scēnārium, from scēna; see scene

Derived forms of scenario

  • scenarist (ˈsiːnərɪst, sɪˈnɑː-), noun

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