documentary

1 of 2

adjective

doc·​u·​men·​ta·​ry ˌdä-kyə-ˈmen-tə-rē 

-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

ˌdä-kyə-mən-ˈter-ə-lē 

-ˌmen-

-kyü-

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

Synonyms

Adjective

• factual
• hard
• historical
• literal
• matter-of-fact
• nonfictional
• objective
• true

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 show is set in the oil fields of western Texas and is based on the documentary podcast Boomtown, which told the story of the West Texan oil boom. —Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025

Read Her Farewell Email This year’s nominees for the Cinema Eye Honors, which honors the best in documentary fiction and TV, included a healthy crop of some of our best new non-fiction offerings. —Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 9 Jan. 2025

Noun

Amazon put $40 million behind a Melania Trump documentary. —Scott Rosenberg, Axios, 11 Jan. 2025

There is probably a perfectly reasonable explanation for why Amazon is reportedly paying $40 million for the rights to a documentary about Melania Trump. —Benjamin Svetkey and Julian Sancton, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Jan. 2025

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

Kids Definition

documentary

1 of 2 adjective

doc·​u·​men·​ta·​ry ˌdäk-yə-ˈment-ə-rē 

-ˈmen-trē

1

: consisting of documents

also : being in writing

documentary proof

2

: presenting actual events or facts about something

a documentary film

documentarily

-mən-ˈter-ə-lē 

-ˌmen-

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 

: being, consisting of, or contained in documents

documentary evidence