chronicle

1 of 2

noun

chron·​i·​cle ˈkrä-ni-kəl 

1

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

a chronicle of the Civil War

2

: narrative sense 1

a chronicle of the struggle against drug traffickers

chronicle

2 of 2

verb

chronicled; chronicling ˈkrä-ni-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

ˈkrä-ni-k(ə-)lər 

noun

Synonyms

Noun

• chronology
• story
• history
• account
• record
• narrative
• diary

Verb

• describe
• tell
• recount
• narrate
• relate
• report

Examples of chronicle in a Sentence

Noun

a chronicle of the American Civil War

a chronicle of the President's years in office

Verb

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 on the Web

Noun

In Ellmann’s Joyce: The Biography of a Masterpiece and Its Maker, Zachary Leader—who has written engaging lives of Kingsley Amis and Saul Bellow—has cobbled together a curious two-part chronicle. —Eric Bulson, The Atlantic, 16 June 2025

That is one way to see history–as nothing but an unvarnished chronicle of what happened. —James T. Kloppenberg, Time, 28 May 2025

Verb

That’s coming from Swift, who built a legion of fans on chronicling breakups. —Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 27 June 2025

The book chronicles Rajamani’s extraordinary survival from a massive brain hemorrhage at age 25, tackling themes of disability, race, and cultural taboos. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 27 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English cronycle, borrowed from Anglo-French cronike, cronicle (-le perhaps by assimilation to words with the suffix -icle, as article article entry 1), borrowed from Latin chronica "book of annals," borrowed from Greek (tà) chroniká, (hai) chronikaí, from plural of chronikós "of time, temporal, in order by time" (with a noun such as biblía "books" or graphaí "writings" understood) — more at chronic

Verb

Middle English cronyclen, verbal derivative of cronycle chronicle entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing chronicle

• chronicle play

Rhymes for chronicle

• canonical
• ironical
• conical
• monocle

Kids Definition

chronicle

1 of 2 noun

chron·​i·​cle ˈkrän-i-kəl 

: an account of events in the order of their happening : history

chronicle

2 of 2 verb

chronicled; chronicling -k(ə-)liŋ 

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

chronicle the major events of last year

chronicler

-k(ə-)lər 

noun

Etymology

Noun

Middle English cronicle "chronicle," from early French chronique (same meaning), derived from Greek chronikos, "of time," from chronos "time" — related to anachronism, chronic, synchronous