as in scripts
the written form of a story prepared for film production
each actor will be given a copy of the screenplay to study
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Recent Examples of screenplays
Writing the screenplays are Ford v Ferrari‘s Jez Butterworth, Conclave‘s Peter Straughan and Adolescence‘s Jack Thorne — a trio which should, given their recent award wins, fill the average Beatles fan with hope.
—
Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 30 Jan. 2026
The trio originally intended to use the app mainly just for their own screenplays.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 27 Jan. 2026
As part of the Academy’s deal with YouTube, Google Arts & Culture will digitize the Academy Collection, more than 52 million items including films, photos, posters, screenplays, props and costumes.
—Susan Shelley, Oc Register, 20 Dec. 2025
The annual list compiles the industry’s favorite screenplays that made the rounds in Hollywood without being produced.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 9 Dec. 2025
His short stories are confessional; so are many of his plays, and certainly several of the screenplays.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 26 Nov. 2025
The publishing division’s Screenplay Collection is a big seller on the site and features original screenplays, new writing and behind-the-scenes materials from films such as Robert Eggers’s The Lighthouse, Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight, and Ari Aster’s Hereditary.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 25 Nov. 2025
Those screenplays piled up on his desk aren’t going to read themselves.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Nov. 2025
Rather than the stiff alien chitchat that dots his own screenplays, the characters in The Favourite trade the witty, venomous bon mots of The Great creator Tony McNamara.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 30 Jan. 2026
The trio originally intended to use the app mainly just for their own screenplays.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 27 Jan. 2026
As part of the Academy’s deal with YouTube, Google Arts & Culture will digitize the Academy Collection, more than 52 million items including films, photos, posters, screenplays, props and costumes.
—Susan Shelley, Oc Register, 20 Dec. 2025
The annual list compiles the industry’s favorite screenplays that made the rounds in Hollywood without being produced.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 9 Dec. 2025
His short stories are confessional; so are many of his plays, and certainly several of the screenplays.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 26 Nov. 2025
The publishing division’s Screenplay Collection is a big seller on the site and features original screenplays, new writing and behind-the-scenes materials from films such as Robert Eggers’s The Lighthouse, Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight, and Ari Aster’s Hereditary.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 25 Nov. 2025
Those screenplays piled up on his desk aren’t going to read themselves.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Nov. 2025
Rather than the stiff alien chitchat that dots his own screenplays, the characters in The Favourite trade the witty, venomous bon mots of The Great creator Tony McNamara.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for screenplays
scripts
Noun
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What begins as a handful of scrappy scripts, dashboards, and internal workflows slowly evolves into something more structured.—
Abdo Riani,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
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That same year, Quinn worked off of Rhimes’ scripts to turn the series into a proper Bridgerton book.—
Sara Netzley,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Screenplays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screenplays. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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