as in stories
the unfolding of events in a dramatic or literary work
the story line is clumsily interrupted several times to provide some much-needed background information
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Recent Examples of story lines
Each chapter covers a single year, shifting between characters and story lines in a narrative as sprawling and multifaceted as the city itself.
—
The New Yorker, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
As the band’s patrician, party-animal bassist, however, Roberts is quite lively, though her subplot takes a backseat to the film’s other story lines.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
The script includes a sprawling cast of characters with disparate story lines that all converge on a fictional Western settlement.
—Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2025
One of the biggest Media Day story lines surrounding the Miami Heat this upcoming season has to do with a player who won’t be available for the start of the season.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 29 Sep. 2025
With high school football practices set to kick off Friday, there are always a slew of story lines to follow during the regular season.
—Danny Ventura, Boston Herald, 15 Aug. 2025
The New Yorker, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
As the band’s patrician, party-animal bassist, however, Roberts is quite lively, though her subplot takes a backseat to the film’s other story lines.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
The script includes a sprawling cast of characters with disparate story lines that all converge on a fictional Western settlement.
—Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2025
One of the biggest Media Day story lines surrounding the Miami Heat this upcoming season has to do with a player who won’t be available for the start of the season.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 29 Sep. 2025
With high school football practices set to kick off Friday, there are always a slew of story lines to follow during the regular season.
—Danny Ventura, Boston Herald, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for story lines
Noun
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The thrill of the unexplained is what prompts so many to take ghost tours, which often tell juicy and sometimes goosebump-inducing stories that give historic sites a richer context.—
Sophie Friedman,
AFAR Media,
22 Oct. 2025
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Those stories kept the massive, icy North American territory in his mind until this year.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Yet the grandmother and community pillar was entangled in one of South Florida’s most notorious murder-for-hire plots.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
15 Oct. 2025
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The pileup of Matlock plots and subplots got to be a bit much last season, especially given that nearly every episode also included a new legal case for Olympia’s team to handle — in less than 44 minutes of screen time, usually.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
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However, there were offices within DHS created to hold agents and their supervisors accountable for their actions on the job.—
J. David McSwane,
ProPublica,
18 Oct. 2025
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Murray addressed the incident earlier this year, stating that his actions were done in jest.—
Jessica Wang,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Story lines.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/story%20lines. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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