diorama

noun

di·​ora·​ma ˌdī-ə-ˈra-mə  -ˈrä- 

1

: a scenic representation in which a partly translucent painting is seen from a distance through an opening

2

a

: a scenic representation in which sculptured figures and lifelike details are displayed usually in miniature so as to blend indistinguishably with a realistic painted background

b

: a life-size exhibit (as of a wildlife specimen or scene) with realistic natural surroundings and a painted background

dioramic

ˌdī-ə-ˈra-mik 

-ˈrä-

adjective

Examples of diorama in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There are taxidermy bison specimens in the Field Museum's nature dioramas, as there have been for more than a century. —Adam Harrington, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2026

The original 1923 stamp, which was worth 30 cents, was based on a diorama featured in the Smithsonian from 1888 to 1957 that contained a large bison bull, Murphy said. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 3 Mar. 2026

Then venetian blinds shrouding the box slowly rose to reveal glass walls and, inside them, a sinister diorama—a replica of RTLM, or Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines, the radio station that fuelled the catastrophe. —Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2026

There are layered diorama-style puppet theater with paper figures. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 24 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French, from dia- + -orama (as in panorama, from English)

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for diorama

• panorama
• trichogramma
• gamma
• grama
• gramma

Kids Definition

diorama

noun

di·​o·​rama

ˌdī-ə-ˈram-ə, 

-ˈräm-

: a scenic representation in which lifelike sculptured figures and surrounding details are realistically set against a painted background