documentary
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documentary
- /ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tɹi/ UK
- /ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tə.ɹi/ UK
- /ˌdɑ.kjəˈmɛn.tə.ɹi/ Canada, US
- /ˌdɑ.kjəˈmɛn.tɹi/ Canada, US
Where it comes from
From French adjective and (hence) noun documentaire, from document, from Latin documentum. Equivalent to document + -ary.
adjective
-
Of, related to, or based on documents.
Similar: documentative, documentational
-
Which serves to document (record or illustrate) a subject.
Similar: documentative, documentational
- Presented objectively without the insertion of fictional matter. a documentary film
noun documentaries
- A film, TV program, publication etc. which presents a social, political, scientific or historical subject in a factual or informative manner. Fifteen documentaries are in sharp-elbowed competition to be among the five Oscar nominees.
- Such works collectively, as a genre. Such sequences draw attention to the affective appeals that environmental documentary typically makes, precisely by absenting those appeals.
Opposite: fiction
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: docudrama, infotainment, documental, documentary film, written, writing, archival, library, documentation, record, reading, document, literature, movie, briefing, reference
noun
Opposite: fiction
Translations
Every language
adj of, related to or based on documents/that serves to document something
| Español | documental, documentario |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | वृत्तचित्र vŕttacitra |
| Português | documental |
| Français | documentaire |
| Română | documentar |
| Русский | документа́льный dokumentálʹnyj |
| العربية | وَثَائِقِيّ waṯāʔiqiyy |
adj presented objectively without the insertion of fictional matter
| Español | documental |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | वृत्तचित्र vŕttacitra |
| Português | documental |
| Italiano | documentario |
| العربية | مُوَثَّق muwaṯṯaq |
| עברית | תִּעוּדִי ti'udí |
noun programme or publication of fact
| Español | documental |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 紀錄片 /纪录片 jìlùpiàn |
| हिन्दी | वृत्तचित्र vŕttacitra |
| Português | documentário |
| Français | documentaire |
| Deutsch | Dokumentation, Doku |
| العربية | وَثَائِقِيّ waṯāʔiqiyy, شَرِيطٌ وَثَائِقِيّ šarīṭun waṯāʔiqiyy |
noun documentary film
| Español | documental |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 다큐멘터리 dakyumenteori, 기록영화 girogyeonghwa |
| 日本語 | ドキュメンタリー dokyumentarī, 記録映画 kiroku eiga |
| 中文 | 紀錄片 /纪录片 jìlùpiàn, 記錄片 /记录片 jìlùpiàn |
| हिन्दी | वृत्तचित्र vŕttacitra |
| Português | documentário |
| Français | documentaire, film documentaire |
| Deutsch | Dokumentation, Dokumentarfilm |
| Italiano | documentario |
| Ελληνικά | ντοκιμαντέρ ntokimantér |
| Română | documentar, film documentar |
| Русский | документа́льный фильм dokumentálʹnyj filʹm |
| Tiếng Việt | phim tài liệu |
| العربية | فِلْم وَثَائِقِيّ film waṯāʔiqiyy, فيلم وثائقي fīlm waṯāʔiqiyy |
| עברית | צִלוּמֵי תְּעוּדָה tsilumé t'udá |
Talk about this word "documentary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/documentary. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. documentary. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/documentary "documentary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/documentary.Cite this
@misc{documentary_2026,
title = {documentary},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/documentary},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
