chronicle

noun chron·i·cle \ ˈkrä-ni-kəl \

Updated on: 12 Apr 2018

Definition of chronicle

1 : a historical account of events arranged in order of time usually without analysis or interpretation

a chronicle of the Civil War

2 : narrative 1

a chronicle of the struggle against drug traffickers

See chronicle defined for English-language learners

See chronicle defined for kids

Examples of chronicle in a Sentence

a chronicle of the American Civil War
a chronicle of the President's years in office

Recent Examples of chronicle from the Web

That struggle is now over, and the new one will now begin in the chronicles of college basketball history.

— dan wolken, USA TODAY, "Villanova makes its case as a historically great championship team," 3 Apr. 2018
Bloomberg reporters visited nine locations to talk Brexit, interviewing 133 people in late February for this chronicle of the country’s transition.

— kitty donaldson, Bloomberg.com, "Portrait of Brexit Britain: A Divided Nation Makes a Journey Into the Unknown," 28 Mar. 2018
But recently, many physicians have taken to Twitter using the #MeTooMedicine tag, sharing anecdotes and linking to blogs that chronicle powerful male doctors harassing them or disrobing at professional conferences.

— christina jewett, chicagotribune.com, "The #MeToo movement hits the medical field," 25 Mar. 2018
But recently, physicians have taken to Twitter using the #MeTooMedicine tag, sharing anecdotes and linking to blogs that chronicle powerful doctors harassing them or disrobing at professional conferences.

— christina jewett, Washington Post, "Women In Medicine Shout #MeToo About Sexual Harassment At Work," 20 Mar. 2018
In some ways, the relationship between Mr. Trump and Tillerson could be described as a chronicle of a firing foretold.

— peter grier, The Christian Science Monitor, "What Tillerson's firing means: Three questions," 13 Mar. 2018
Nantwich bequeaths to Will his personal history, a chronicle of his erotic life from boarding school to his years as a colonial administrator in Africa.

— andrew marantz, The New Yorker, "A Novel of Sex and Secrecy," 10 Oct. 2011
And the political rookie, with his lack of discipline, loud mouth and over-reliance on intuition has certainly given them ample examples of that to chronicle.

— andrew malcolm, San Francisco Chronicle, "Trump stops talking and starts listening," 8 Mar. 2018
And the political rookie with his lack of discipline, loud mouth and over-reliance on intuition has certainly given them ample examples of that to chronicle.

— andrew malcolm, Anchorage Daily News, "It’s about time: Big-mouth Trump learning to listen," 6 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chronicle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of chronicle

Middle English cronicle, from Anglo-French, alteration of chronike, from Latin chronica, from Greek chronika, from neuter plural of chronikos — see chronic

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

chronicle Synonyms

Synonyms

account, chronology, commentary (usually commentaries), history, narration, narrative, record, report, story;

Related Words

version;

deposition, documentation, testament, testimonial, testimony, witness;

annals, blog, diary, journal, log, logbook, memoir;

anecdote, tale, yarn;

epic, saga;

recital, recitation;

case history, case study;

Other Publishing Terms

annotate, dreadful, emend, expurgate, factoid, jump, lobster shift, redaction, referee

chronicle

verb

Definition of chronicle

chronicled; chronicling \-k(ə-)liŋ\

transitive verb

: to present a record of in or as if in a chronicle

chronicle Victorian society

chronicle the doings of the rich and famous

—

chronicler

play \-k(ə-)lər\ noun

See chronicle defined for English-language learners

Examples of chronicle in a Sentence

The book chronicles the events that led to the American Civil War.
She intends to chronicle the broad social changes that have occurred in this part of the country.
a magazine that chronicles the lives of the rich and famous

Recent Examples of chronicle from the Web

He was sentenced on Oct. Oct. 21, 1988, but was later exonerated after the true rapist turned himself in after reading a series of stories chronicling Green's life after his release.

— justin madden, cleveland.com, "Once wrongly convicted, Michael Green takes oath as auxiliary police officer in Maple Heights," 5 Apr. 2018
Kantor and Bordainick are currently working on their next Story Course with chef Behzad Jamshidi chronicling his parents dramatic escape from the shah in Iran.

— CBS News, "Story Course: A chef's life, in six dishes," 31 Mar. 2018
Grey’s Anatomy airs 305 episodes chronicling Meredith Grey’s rise from surgical intern to chief of general surgery extraordinaire.

— roxanna scott, USA TODAY, "Since Tiger Woods won his last Masters green jacket, here's how much the world has changed," 27 Mar. 2018
Lifetime released the first teaser trailer from their film chronicling the courtship of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance.

— sarah midkiff, refinery29.com, "Harry & Meghan's Lifetime Movie Is A Full On Fairybook Romance," 17 Mar. 2018
Kroese, of Loves Park, Ill., will talk about his upcoming book chronicling his visits and his collection of 238 Find Your Park lapel pins will be on display through April.

— Post-Tribune, "Community brief," 16 Mar. 2018
The streamer has put drama Demons, inspired by true events and chronicling the hysteria known as the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and '90s, in development.

— lesley goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Demons' Drama Exploring Satanic Panic in the Works at Hulu (Exclusive)," 15 Mar. 2018
But Michael Gonzalez’s future could be derailed by the Jan. 19 robbery chronicled in an arrest warrant.

— david ovalle, miamiherald, "The kid from the Kendall Toyota ads may have been dealing something besides cars | Miami Herald," 13 Mar. 2018
The fourth installment to the The Purge franchise is a prequel chronicling the very first Purge night.

— the editors, Cosmopolitan, "19 Movies You're Gonna Lose Your Mind Over in 2018," 9 Mar. 2018

Origin and Etymology of chronicle

see ¹chronicle

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

chronicle Synonyms

Synonyms

chart, describe, narrate, recite, recount, rehearse, relate, report, tell;

detail, enumerate, itemize, particularize;

bare, disclose, divulge, expose, let on (about), reveal;

delineate, depict, express, render, sketch;

Phrases

set forth;

Other Publishing Terms

annotate, dreadful, emend, expurgate, factoid, jump, lobster shift, redaction, referee

CHRONICLE Defined for English Language Learners

chronicle

noun

Definition of chronicle for English Language Learners

: a description of events in the order that they happened

chronicle

verb

Definition of chronicle for English Language Learners

: to describe a series of events in the order that they happened

CHRONICLE Defined for Kids

chronicle

noun chron·i·cle \ ˈkrä-ni-kəl \

Definition of chronicle for Students

: an account of events in the order that they happened : history

Word Root of chronicle

The Greek word chronos, meaning “time,” gives us the root chron. Words from the Greek chronos have something to do with time. The chronological order of events is the order in which they happened in time. Anything that is chronic lasts for a very long time. A chronicle is a telling of events in the order in which they happened in time.

chronicle

verb

Definition of chronicle for Students

chronicled; chronicling

: to record in the order of occurrence

This chapter chronicles the events leading to the American Revolution.

Learn More about chronicle

See words that rhyme with chronicle Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for chronicle Spanish Central: Translation of chronicle Nglish: Translation of chronicle for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of chronicle for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about chronicle

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chronicle

Definition of chronicle

Examples of chronicle in a Sentence

Recent Examples of chronicle from the Web

Origin and Etymology of chronicle

chronicle Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Publishing Terms

chronicle

Definition of chronicle

chronicler

Examples of chronicle in a Sentence

Recent Examples of chronicle from the Web

Origin and Etymology of chronicle

chronicle Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Phrases

Other Publishing Terms

CHRONICLE Defined for English Language Learners

chronicle

Definition of chronicle for English Language Learners

chronicle

Definition of chronicle for English Language Learners

CHRONICLE Defined for Kids

chronicle

Definition of chronicle for Students

Word Root of chronicle

chronicle

Definition of chronicle for Students

Learn More about chronicle

Seen and Heard

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