documentary

1 of 2

adjective

doc·​u·​men·​ta·​ry ˌdä-kyə-ˈmen-tə-rē How to pronounce documentary (audio)
-ˈmen-trē,
-kyü-
1
: being or consisting of documents : contained or certified in writing
documentary evidence
2
: of, relating to, or employing documentation (see documentation sense 2) in literature or art
broadly : factual, objective
a documentary film of the war
documentarily adverb

documentary

2 of 2

noun

plural documentaries
: a presentation (such as a film or novel) expressing or dealing with factual events : a documentary presentation

Examples of documentary in a Sentence

Adjective You must present documentary proof of your residence. a documentary film about the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor Noun We watched a documentary on the early history of jazz.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The film plays like both a dense historical text and a lively jazz concert while proving itself to be an invigorating piece of documentary filmmaking. Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 11 Mar. 2024 The Last Repair Shop — one win The Last Repair Shop won best documentary short film. Tatiana Tenreyro, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2024 Now that the Swifties have officially infiltrated the NFL, what better place for Taylor Swift to preview Reputation (Taylor's Version) than on a documentary series about the New England Patriots? Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 7 Mar. 2024 There are many paintings, drawings, and sculptures here, but less documentary material than one needs in order to appreciate the complicated history of the place and time. Hilton Als, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 The film's authenticity is also aided by the fact that his character is making a documentary film about police work, which means Gyllenhaal also doubles as a camera operator for many of the film's key scenes, requiring advanced coordination between his performance and his camerawork. Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024 And the city of El Cajon recently published a documentary video that shows its police officers offering assistance to many residents living on city streets; all but one declined. Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Feb. 2024 Mara and Phoenix's baby news was revealed by Victor Kossakovsky, a Russian filmmaker who previously worked with Phoenix on the documentary Gunda, at the Zurich Film Festival. Nicholas Rice, Peoplemag, 18 Feb. 2024 And documentary filmmaking is always a tricky thing. Lacey Rose, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Feb. 2024
Noun
Without calling attention to the idea, the documentary illustrates the importance of arrangements. Caryn James, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2024 The documentary, directed by David Bushell, will have its world premiere at SXSW on March 12 at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas. Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 12 Mar. 2024 The short documentary dives into the inner workings of a workshop that is dedicated to providing free musical instrument repairs for Los Angeles students. Kristina Behr, Parents, 11 Mar. 2024 The documentary explores the relationship between the Entourage star and a 14-year-old photographer named Austin Visschedyk. Jacqueline Weiss, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 The documentary includes scenes from the aftermath of an attack on a maternity hospital. Constant Méheut, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024 The documentary’s team of 18 — which includes the production team, instrument technicians, Ismerai and Porché — will roll up to Hollywood’s largest stage in a yellow school bus. Ashley Ahn, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024 The cultural street party has been turned into a documentary as Hulu’s Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told is set to arrive on the streamer on March 21. Michael Saponara, Billboard, 29 Feb. 2024 At one point in the documentary, LAROI shares some lessons that he's taken away from his father, Nick Howard — a producer and engineer who found mainstream pop stardom in the '90s. Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 29 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'documentary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

see document entry 1

Noun

see document entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

1802, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1935, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of documentary was in 1802

Dictionary Entries Near documentary

Cite this Entry

“Documentary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/documentary. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

documentary

1 of 2 adjective
doc·​u·​men·​ta·​ry ˌdäk-yə-ˈment-ə-rē How to pronounce documentary (audio)
-ˈmen-trē
1
: consisting of documents
also : being in writing
documentary proof
2
: presenting actual events or facts about something
a documentary film
documentarily adverb

documentary

2 of 2 noun
plural documentaries
: a documentary presentation (as a film or novel)

Legal Definition

documentary

adjective
doc·​u·​men·​ta·​ry ˌdä-kyə-ˈmen-tə-rē How to pronounce documentary (audio)
: being, consisting of, or contained in documents
documentary evidence

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