dramatization

noun

dra·​ma·​ti·​za·​tion ˌdra-mə-tə-ˈzā-shən 

ˌdrä-

1

: the action of dramatizing

2

: a dramatized version (as of a novel)

Synonyms of dramatization

• drama
• play

Examples of dramatization in a Sentence

a dramatization of a true story

Recent Examples on the Web

Ron Howard’s dramatization of the 1970 space emergency was a hit among critics and viewers when it was released in 1995, earning nine Academy Award nominations, including a nod for Best Picture. —Lia Beck, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Dec. 2025

The challenge is to say their lines in unison with the original speaker, voicing them with no dramatization or embellishment. —Leah Abrams, Vogue, 29 Dec. 2025

Hamnet, based on Maggie O’Farrell’s novel of the same name, is a dramatization of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife Agnes’s (a gutting performance from Jessie Buckley) relationship after the death of their young child, which inspires the Bard to write Hamlet. —Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 13 Dec. 2025

Tagawa was given his real breakthrough by Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci, who chose him for his Oscar-winning 1987 film , a dramatization of the life of China’s final monarch of the Qing dynasty, Emperor Puyi. —Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1796, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing dramatization

• self-dramatization

Rhymes for dramatization

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration

Medical Definition

dramatization

noun

dra·​ma·​ti·​za·​tion

variants or British dramatisation

ˌdram-ət-ə-ˈzā-shən, ˌdräm- 

: the transformation which in psychoanalytic theory the underlying dream thoughts undergo into dramatic and pictorial form before they can take part in the actual dream