narrative

noun nar·ra·tive \ ˈner-ə-tiv , ˈna-rə- \

|Updated on: 9 Aug 2018

Definition of narrative

1 a : something that is narrated : story, account

He is writing a detailed narrative of his life on the island.

b : a way of presenting or understanding a situation or series of events that reflects and promotes a particular point of view or set of values

The rise of the Tea Party and the weakness of the Obama economy have fueled a Republican narrative about Big Government as a threat to liberty …
—Michael Grunwald

The media narrative around Kelly's appointment had two central ideas … : He would calm and professionalize the White House, and he would provide a more measured leadership style than his boss.
—Perry Bacon Jr.

2 : the art or practice of narration

… depended not on narrative but on intensity derived from the verity to make the book jump.
—Stanley Kauffmann

3 : the representation in art of an event or story; also : an example of such a representation

the narrative of St. Joan of Arc

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narratively

adverb

See narrative defined for English-language learners

See narrative defined for kids

Examples of narrative in a Sentence

He is writing a detailed narrative of his life on the island.
People have questioned the accuracy of his narrative.

Recent Examples of narrative from the Web

Aren’t the data fabricated to support the ruling party’s narrative of fast and steady progress?

— The Economist, "China’s statistics are bad. Many criticisms of them are worse," 7 July 2018
Anyone who tells you this is somehow going to lower the standard at these schools is buying into a false and damaging narrative.

— harry bruinius, The Christian Science Monitor, "'Keep the test!' A debate flares over exam-based public high schools.," 6 July 2018
The photos paint a horrifying narrative of how in 1990, a woman named Marlene Warren answered her front door, only to be killed by someone dressed as a clown.

— chuck weber, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Evidence photos shed light on notorious killer clown case," 4 July 2018
Powell singlehandedly tried to change the American narrative.

— john f. ross, Smithsonian, "The Visionary John Wesley Powell Had a Plan for Developing the West, But Nobody Listened," 3 July 2018
Buckling to a false media narrative only exacerbates the problems at our border and puts more children at risk from traffickers.

— emily atkin, The New Republic, "A Homeland Security spokesman ranted at U.S. airlines for criticizing Trump’s child separation policy.," 20 June 2018
Buckling to a false media narrative only exacerbates the problems at our border and puts more children at risk from traffickers.

— CBS News, "DHS says airlines are "buckling to a false media narrative" amid border policy debate," 20 June 2018
Over the past several years, a narrative of transformation has overtaken the city.

— tamara warren, The Verge, "Inside Detroit’s crumbling train station that Ford plans to transform into a mobility lab," 20 June 2018
An orchestra captured the broader narratives of nations, cultures, modern institutions over time.

— arielle pardes, WIRED, "The Aural Magic of Stanford's Laptop Orchestra," 8 June 2018

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

First Known Use of narrative

1567

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

narrative Synonyms

Synonyms

account, chronicle, chronology, commentary (usually commentaries), history, narration, record, report, story;

Related Words

version;

deposition, documentation, testament, testimonial, testimony, witness;

annals, blog, diary, journal, log, logbook, memoir;

anecdote, tale, yarn;

epic, saga;

recital, recitation;

case history, case study;

narrative

adjective

Definition of narrative

1 : having the form of a story or representing a story

a narrative poem

narrative paintings

2 : of or relating to the process of telling a story

the author's narrative style

the novel's narrative structure

See narrative defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of narrative from the Web

One way or another, McQuarrie spins just enough of a narrative line on which to hang the big set pieces.

— todd mccarthy, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Mission: Impossible — Fallout': Film Review," 12 July 2018
So much of this community activity and narrative world-building and much more could be enabled in Fortnite’s creative mode, away from the competitive aggressiveness of its battle royale version.

— nick statt, The Verge, "The future of Fortnite may look a lot like Playground mode," 11 July 2018
Still, this is consistent with much of the film’s narrative style which, largely to its benefit, relies more on atmosphere and visual expression than on dialogue or exposition.

— gary goldstein, latimes.com, "Review: Vincent Cassel's soulful portrayal propels vivid 'Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti'," 10 July 2018
Dippel isn't attempting a narrative history here, but a topical one.

— Anchorage Daily News, "In ‘To the Ends of the Earth,’ an ambitious attempt to encompass era of polar exploration," 7 July 2018
Vallée cuts to Camille’s childhood to reflect the fractured memories that impede her attempts at narrative clarity: her own and in her reporting.

— Vogue, "Is Sharp Objects the Next Big Little Lies?," 3 July 2018
There could be no more appealing bearer of this narrative message than Stephen McCauley.

— sylvia brownrigg, San Francisco Chronicle, "‘My Ex-Life,’ by Stephen McCauley," 14 June 2018
Like the De Palma and Miike films, this one takes place in a self-aware cinematic world where taboos don't exist and anything is possible, the writer-director hurling out narrative developments and sci-fi conceits.

— ben sachs, Chicago Reader, "Upgrade is so derivative, it’s original," 14 June 2018
Hollinghurst’s narrative orbits around the disparate fates of a father and son, but contained within its epic scope is an elegiac portrait of the inexorable power of time.

— time staff, Time, "Best Novels of 2018 So Far," 11 June 2018