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1

documentary

adjective doc·u·men·ta·ry \ -ˈmen-tə-rē , -ˈmen-trē \

Definition of documentary

1 :being or consisting of documents :contained or certified in writing

documentary evidence

2 :of, relating to, or employing documentation (see documentation 2) in literature or art; broadly :factual, objective

a documentary film of the war

—

documentarily

play \-mən-ˈter-ə-lē, -ˌmen-\ adverb

See documentary defined for English-language learners

See documentary defined for kids

Examples of documentary in a Sentence

You must present documentary proof of your residence.
a documentary film about the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor

Recent Examples of documentary from the Web

A documentary film on Sept. 20 will discuss the impact of the Indian Child Welfare Act, the child welfare system, and the laws, policies and attitudes that affect native families.

— faye reeder, star-telegram, "Pantego Lions Club Pancake Breakfast benefits local causes," 16 Aug. 2017
Royals At this point, the Princess Diana documentary field should have its own Emmy category.

— elise taylor, Vogue, "Princess Diana’s Most Riveting and Revealing Quotes in Diana: In Her Own Words," 15 Aug. 2017
Documentary film maker Nawneet Ranjan is running an incredible project in Mumbai's Naya Nagar neighborhood.

— adam lashinsky, Fortune, "Data Sheet—Wednesday, July 26, 2017," 26 July 2017
Callista and Newt Gingrich have also hosted and produced documentary films on American history, politics and religion.

— pete grieve, CNN, "Senate committee holds hearing for Vatican ambassador nominee Callista Gingrich," 18 July 2017
Gene Seymour wrote this review, (c) 2017 The New York Times News Service. ___________ OBIT 3 stars, out of 5 Snapshot: A documentary portrait of the writers populating The New York Times' obituary desk.

— the new york times, NOLA.com, "'Obit' movie review: Documentary focuses on a dying art form," 14 July 2017
Jefferson’s grandson was a notoriously unreliable source of information, and there is no direct archeological or documentary evidence tying Hemings to the room in the south wing.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Sally Hemings Gets Her Own Room at Monticello," 5 July 2017
Mr. Ayala, 29, is a creative director and founder of Fovrth Studios, a production studio in New York specializing in creating virtual reality experiences and documentary video content.

— New York Times, "Glenn Cohen, Jesse Ayala Jr.," 2 July 2017
Cinematographer Charles Libin, who has ample experience in nonfiction film, shoots the action with a documentary directness that serves the material well.

— sheri linden, The Hollywood Reporter, "'En el Septimo Dia': Film Review," 1 July 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of documentary

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1802

See Words from the same year

documentary Synonyms

Synonyms

factual, hard, historical, literal, matter-of-fact, nonfictional, objective, true

Antonyms

fictional, fictionalized, fictitious, nondocumentary, nonfactual, nonhistorical, unhistorical

Related Words

actual, authentic, bona fide, genuine, real, right; documented, established; confirmable, reliable, supportable, sustainable, verifiable; demonstrable, provable; incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable, irrefutable, undeniable, unquestionable; plain, simple; certain, undoubted

Near Antonyms

hypothetical, speculative, theoretical (also theoretic); apocryphal, unauthentic, undocumented; chimerical (also chimeric), fabulous, fanciful, fantastic (also fantastical), imaginary, imagined, invented, legendary, made-up, make-believe, mythical (or mythic), pretend; embroidered, exaggerated; insupportable, unsupportable

Other Literature Terms

apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody

2

documentary

noun

Definition of documentary

plural documentaries

:a presentation (such as a film or novel) expressing or dealing with factual events :a documentary presentation

See documentary defined for English-language learners

Examples of documentary in a Sentence

We watched a documentary on the early history of jazz.

Recent Examples of documentary from the Web

The moviemaking icing on Bell's work is the inclusion of the making of the documentary as part of the story.

— rick bentley, chicagotribune.com, "'I Do ... Until I Don't' review: Lake Bell helms a sweet romance," 30 Aug. 2017
As usual now, cable news largely focused on the one story (though MSNBC returned to its normal Sunday night features fare via a two-hour documentary on the late Princess Diana).

— The Hive, "How Silicon Valley Has Changed Hurricane Coverage," 28 Aug. 2017
In the documentary, Prince Harry described the role of the paparazzi as being one of the most difficult things to address.

— danica kirka, The Seattle Times, "In candid interview, Princes William and Harry speak of Diana’s death 20 years ago," 23 Aug. 2017
The documentary debuted April 21 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York and had a brief theatrical run in Miami in the spring.

— mimi whitefield, miamiherald, "Elián González documentary to air Thursday on CNN," 23 Aug. 2017
But don’t worry, the reel for this year’s show is already jam-packed with 80 minutes of cat videos from all corners of the globe, culled from public nominations in the categories of comedy, drama, animated, musical, action, vintage and documentary.

— matthew martinez, star-telegram, "Cat videos are high art at this Dallas film festival," 22 Aug. 2017
The former editor is the subject of an upcoming documentary by Kate Novack, premiering next month at the Toronto Film Festival, with a wide release next spring.

— sarah spellings, The Cut, "The Documentary About André Leon Talley Has the Most André Leon Talley Name," 21 Aug. 2017
Vice News filmed a documentary of the rally last Friday.

— joshua adams, Longreads, "What Thomas Jefferson Taught Me About Charlottesville and America," 17 Aug. 2017
The Glendale chapter of the Armenian National Committee of America is asking management at the Americana at Brand to reverse its recent decision to reject an advertisement for a documentary about the Armenian Genocide.

— jeff landa, Glendale News-Press, "Americana’s rejection of ad for documentary about genocide causes controversy," 8 Aug. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of documentary

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1935

See Words from the same year

Other Performing Arts Terms

diva, dramaturgy, loge, prestidigitation, proscenium, supernumerary, zany

DOCUMENTARY Defined for English Language Learners

documentary

adjective

Definition of documentary for English Language Learners

: consisting of documents : written down

documentary

noun

Definition of documentary for English Language Learners

: a movie or television program that tells the facts about actual people and events

DOCUMENTARY Defined for Kids

documentary

noun doc·u·men·ta·ry \ ˌdä-kyə-ˈmen-tə-rē , -ˈmen-trē \

Definition of documentary for Students

plural documentaries

:a film that tells the facts about something

Law Dictionary

documentary

adjective doc·u·men·ta·ry \ ˌdä-kyə-ˈmen-tə-rē \

legal Definition of documentary

:being, consisting of, or contained in documents

documentary evidence

Learn More about documentary

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

Seen and Heard

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show

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play

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Examples: documentary in a Sentence