🎬 A factual film 📄 From records 🎥 Factual style

documentary

3.8

That presents true events using images and interviews

adjective
/ˌdɑːkjəˈmɛnteri/

: documental

I just realized by watching your documentary that I am a minimalist.

What is it like for you to see your life presented documentary style to to look back?

Autoplay Next

Examples

It's a really interesting documentary about Inuit media making.
Just pretend that we have a documentary crew filming us.
Well, you know, the guy who directed The Last Dance also did a documentary on Andre the Giant.
So there's been a film made, books based on you and documentaries about your life.
I mean, there is when you see these, these shows or documentaries of like hoarders houses.
The filmmaker created a documentary that explores climate change through interviews with scientists.
Many educational channels feature a documentary format to inform viewers about historical events.
Her latest project is a documentary focusing on the lives of wildlife conservationists.

Compounds

documentary film

14 2.4

A film that shows real events, people, or issues

wildlife documentary

1 3.4

A film or television program that shows animals living in nature and explains the natural world

How Factual

factual

112 3.4

documentary

3.8

fictional

106 3.4

Surface Forms

documentary positive

Morphology

documentary = document (semi-transparent) = document + ary

Formally derived from 'document' + '-ary', but the sense 'relating to factual film production' is an extended, culturally specific development of 'relating to documents'.

Etymology

Documentary The word documentary comes from document, via Latin documentum and docere 'to teach', where a document was a 'written proof' or a 'lesson'. That's why a documentary style uses real records, images, or interviews to show facts and 'teach' the audience about real events.