documentary

adjective

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

, -ˈmen-trē, -kyü-\

Definition of documentary

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

2 : of, relating to, or employing documentation (see documentation sense 2) in literature or art broadly : factual, objective a documentary film of the war

documentary

noun

plural documentaries

Definition of documentary (Entry 2 of 2)

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

Other Words from documentary Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about documentary

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Examples of documentary in a Sentence

Adjective

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

Noun

We watched a documentary on the early history of jazz.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Completely revamping his diet taught McCoy so much that he was inspired to hire a documentary team to follow him through the upcoming year. — Jourdan Rodrigue, charlotteobserver, "Gerald McCoy joins a new NFL team for 1st time in a decade. But he says he’s ready.," 4 June 2019 Souls is being touted as that increasingly common beast, the fiction-documentary hybrid, but on this evidence Toucedo would do better to stick to the documentary side of things. — Jonathan Holland, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Thirty Souls' ('Trinta Lumes'): Film Review | Berlin 2018," 21 Feb. 2018 At the time, his team was promoting its documentary film, called Coexist, about the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. — De Elizabeth, Teen Vogue, "Dawnland Documentary Shows How the U.S. Government Took Indigenous Children From Their Homes — and Placed Them With White Families," 5 Nov. 2018 Ford traveled to Indonesia to better understand the challenges of deforestation, taking viewers along with him in Showtime's Years of Living Dangerously documentary television series. — Sarah Bowman, Indianapolis Star, "Indiana Jones honored by Indianapolis Zoo: Harrison Ford wins award for wildlife conservation," 10 July 2018 Robinson ruled last month that Kansas cannot require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, finding such laws are unconstitutional. — Roxana Hegeman, The Seattle Times, "Kansas official follows order, registers thousands to vote," 9 July 2018 Here, he is represented by cybernetic drawings, documentary photographs and a video that shows him making an inflatable plastic sculpture with his students. — New York Times, "10 Galleries to Visit Now on the Upper East Side," 26 Apr. 2018 In an era of shrinking news budgets, alternative-truths and fervor over fake news, the films, part of a documentary renaissance, are vital journalism in a multiplatform, streaming world. — Jeffrey Fleishman, latimes.com, "Documentary films explore the despair of America's heroin and opioid epidemic," 6 July 2018 That won’t be Ocasio-Cortez’s only documentary appearance. — Rebecca Keegan, HWD, "Documentaries Just Might Solve Everything," 29 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Fogel is also responsible for the documentary Icarus. — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, "Riveting Tales: An Oslo Journal, Part III," 10 June 2019 Leonardo DiCaprio and dad George teamed up for climate change documentaryLeonardo DiCaprio and dad George are doing their best to keep people educated about climate change. — Ale Russian, PEOPLE.com, "Family Bonding! Leonardo DiCaprio Attends Documentary Premiere with Dad George, 75," 6 June 2019 From there, its presence in popular culture burgeoned into a multitude of reality shows and documentaries. — Fox News, "Scientists warn that 'storm chasers' are hurting research and causing danger," 5 June 2019 The festival, known for edgy documentaries and independent narrative films from a diverse range of voices, will highlight 174 feature-length and short movies culled from more than 9,000 submissions. ... — Ellen Gamerman, WSJ, "Five Movies Bound to Make Noise at the Tribeca Film Festival," 17 Apr. 2019 Learn its history, the places a passion for beer can take you, and how the great experience of sharing a beer with a friend, or stranger, at the bar is indeed universal Learn more about the documentary and check out the preview here. — James Lynch, Popular Mechanics, "We Made a Beer Documentary and You Can Pre-Order It Now," 27 Feb. 2019 These are just the major health incidents that have gone public — and are good fodder for the recent documentary and forthcoming biopic. — Julia Belluz, Vox, "Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s incredible ability to bounce back," 14 Dec. 2018 Wallace has looked to engage fans with behind-the-scenes videos and a documentary series aired on Facebook Watch. — Edgar Thompson, OrlandoSentinel.com, "NASCAR's rising stars under pressure to produce wins," 6 July 2018 Goldin was escorted out of a movie theater in New York after protesting about the screening of an unrelated documentary made by Madeleine Sackler, a granddaughter of Raymond Sackler. — Norman Vanamee, Town & Country, "How Sackler Became the Most Toxic Name in Philanthropy," 16 May 2019

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.