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

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

There's also an animatronic dire wolf poised majestically in an educational diorama. —Mike Snider, USA Today, 17 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