documentary

1 of 2

adjective

doc·​u·​men·​ta·​ry ˌdä-kyə-ˈmen-tə-rē How to pronounce documentary (audio)
-ˈmen-trē,
-kyü-
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
documentarily adverb

documentary

2 of 2

noun

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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
Betty Ann Adam, one of the documentary subjects, came on board as executive producer. Jennie Punter, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025 The Paper’s connection to The Office comes first from behind the cameras, as the documentary crew that chronicled Michael Scott, Pam Beesly et al chooses the Truth-Teller as its next subject. Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025
Noun
Included is more than three hours of documentary video that charts the history of the controversial fighting franchise, 90 minutes of archival footage, original artwork made by Mortal Kombat’s co-creator, John Tobias, as well as a bunch of notebooks and vintage adverts to peruse. Joshua Lamb, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025 Paula Deen's new documentary follows her downfall after her headline-making N-word controversy. Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for documentary

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

see document entry 1

Noun

see document entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

1802, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1935, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of documentary was in 1802

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Documentary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/documentary. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

documentary

1 of 2 adjective
doc·​u·​men·​ta·​ry ˌdäk-yə-ˈment-ə-rē How to pronounce documentary (audio)
-ˈmen-trē
1
: consisting of documents
also : being in writing
documentary proof
2
: presenting actual events or facts about something
a documentary film
documentarily adverb

documentary

2 of 2 noun
plural documentaries
: a documentary presentation (as a film or novel)

Legal Definition

documentary

adjective
doc·​u·​men·​ta·​ry ˌdä-kyə-ˈmen-tə-rē How to pronounce documentary (audio)
: being, consisting of, or contained in documents
documentary evidence

More from Merriam-Webster on documentary

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!