screenplay
Americannoun
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screenplays
plural
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a motion-picture or television scenario.
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Older Use. a motion picture.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of screenplay
Explanation
Before a movie can be filmed, a writer has to come up with a screenplay, a written script that describes all the action and every line the actors will speak. How entertaining, thrilling, realistic, or fantastic a movie is depends on many variables, one of the most important being the screenplay. A truly great screenplay includes brilliant dialogue that develops the characters and moves the action forward. TV shows and elaborate video games also require screenplays. Some writers adapt books or older movies into new screenplays, while others come up with entirely original stories for their screenplays.
Vocabulary lists containing screenplay
Academy Awards, List 3
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myPerspectives 7.3
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Introduction to Drama
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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.
See Examples For:
Wilson -- behind an acclaimed translation which Nolan has praised -- generated headlines this week after penning a scathing critique of his screenplay.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
It is the first in a trilogy by Nigerian-American author Tomi Adeyemi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Gina Prince-Bythewood, director of Bafta-nominated historical drama The Woman King.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
“My Left Foot” was also nominated for best picture, director and adapted screenplay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
A friend and I were so inspired we decided to write a screenplay for a short, but we soon realized funding was harder than we thought.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
For six weeks in Los Angeles during that turbulent summer, the American writer William Faulkner worked frantically to turn Battle Cry into a screenplay.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
Although Dorothy Parker tried her hand at plays and had a successful writing career in Hollywood—her screenplays included 1937’s “A Star is Born”—she excelled in briefer forms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
The original story by Travis Braun was ranked No. 1 on the 2024 Black List of the best unproduced screenplays.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
"In the Writing categories, the rules codify that screenplays must be human-authored to be eligible."
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
Fennell’s eye for image-making is her greatest directorial strength; it’s what keeps her films afloat even when their screenplays struggle to tread water.
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2026
For the next five decades, Houseman edited and wrote screenplays, earning admiration for his work.
From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
