chronicle

1 of 2

noun

chron·i·cle ˈkrä-ni-kəl

Synonyms of chronicle next

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

a chronicle of the Civil War

: 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

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

The drunk night chronicle is a glimpse of where their sound is going. —

Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 29 Nov. 2023 What the show chronicles instead is the concrete jungle from which an artist’s dreams arose. —

Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 29 Nov. 2023 Clothing chronicles the everyday lives of women; the rituals of mourning, the move to a new home, weddings and christenings are rendered meaningful and consequential. —

Beth Py-Lieberman, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Nov. 2023 Rather than quit, the 11-year-old was motivated to rehearse even harder for future stops, which the documentary chronicles with clips of Carter’s progress throughout her mother’s world tour. —

Vulture, 26 Nov. 2023 The book’s close-up portraits and biographies constitute a chronicle of Black Washington. —

Ian Shapira, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023 This six-episode series chronicles three of the biggest heists in modern American history, as told by those who committed the crimes. —

Dana Feldman, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023 The Devil Wears Prada for the Bad Blood generation, Glossy is a gripping portrait of not just one of the most important business leaders of her generation, but also a chronicle of an era. —

Radhika Seth, Glamour, 24 Oct. 2023 There’s the sob story, the gallant bildungsroman, the louche chronicle of various addictive behaviors, the righteous making of an activist, the victory lap. —

Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2023

Verb

Similar to Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and her team decided to bypass Hollywood studios and struck a pact with AMC Theatres to distribute Renaissance, which chronicles her recent world stage tour, while including behind-the-scenes footage detailing the planning and execution of the concert. —

Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Dec. 2023 Photos: Photographers with The New York Times and other news organizations have been chronicling the war, capturing a slice of how soldiers and civilians have experienced it. —

Neil MacFarquhar, New York Times, 30 Nov. 2023 Devex, a news outlet focused on the aid and development world, has chronicled the rising anger inside the World Food Program, UNICEF and other agencies. —

Louisa Loveluck, Washington Post, 29 Nov. 2023 In Harry & Meghan, the Netflix series chronicling the couple’s love story and current chapter released last year, Meghan spoke about learning about the surprising realities of royal life during an interaction with Kate and William. —

Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 28 Nov. 2023 Beyonce wrote, executive produced, as well as co-directed the film, which chronicles her record-breaking Renaissance World Tour. —

Anna Chan, Billboard, 23 Nov. 2023 Her most popular posts chronicle the challenges and excitement of coping with polar night, including taking vitamin D supplements, bathing in icy water and making her cabin as cozy as possible. —

Kaetlyn Liddy, NBC News, 20 Nov. 2023 For many, 2023 was a year of momentous change and loss, marked by events that will be chronicled in history books for generations to come. —

Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Nov. 2023 Over several weeks, Lena sent daily texts and voice messages to a Times reporter, chronicling her time in Gaza. —

Vivian Yee, New York Times, 17 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chronicle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler

The first known use of chronicle was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Chronicle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chronicle. Accessed 8 Dec. 2023.

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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