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documentary
" I think documentary filmmaking is a braver way to make films because it's real, and you're really there."
Jamie Bell

Meaning of "documentary" in the English dictionary

DICTIONARY

PRONUNCIATION OF DOCUMENTARY

ˌdɒkjʊˈmɛntərɪ


GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF DOCUMENTARY

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Documentary can act as a noun and an adjective.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.

WHAT DOES DOCUMENTARY MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Documentary film

A documentary film is a nonfictional motion picture intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record. Such films were originally shot on film stock — the only medium available — but now includes video and digital productions that can be either direct-to-video, made into a TV show or released for screening in cinemas. "Documentary" has been described as a "filmmaking practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception" that is continually evolving and is without clear boundaries.

Definition of documentary in the English dictionary

The first definition of documentary in the dictionary is Also: documental. consisting of, derived from, or relating to documents. Other definition of documentary is presenting factual material with little or no fictional additions. Documentary is also a factual film or television programme about an event, person, etc, presenting the facts with little or no fiction.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH DOCUMENTARY

alimentary · complementary · complimentary · elementary · filamentary · impedimentary · integumentary · mockumentary · parliamentary · rudimentary · sacramentary · sedimentary · semidocumentary · shockumentary · supplementary · tegumentary · tenementary · testamentary · uncomplimentary · unparliamentary

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE DOCUMENTARY

docudrama · document · document case · document imaging · document reader · documentable · documental · documentalist · documentarian · documentaries · documentarily · documentarise · documentarist · documentarize · documentary evidence · documentary film · documentary letter of credit · documentation · documentational · documenter

WORDS THAT END LIKE DOCUMENTARY

commentary · dentary · emolumentary · fly-on-the-wall documentary · fragmentary · involuntary · ligamentary · medicamentary · military · momentary · nonelementary · nonvoluntary · pigmentary · running commentary · sedentary · segmentary · semisedentary · unguentary · vestimentary · voluntary

Synonyms and antonyms of documentary in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «DOCUMENTARY»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «documentary» and belong to the same grammatical category.

Translation of «documentary» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENTARY

Find out the translation of documentary to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of documentary from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «documentary» in English.
zh

Translator English - Chinese

纪录片
1,325 millions of speakers
es

Translator English - Spanish

documental
570 millions of speakers
en

English

documentary
510 millions of speakers
hi

Translator English - Hindi

वृत्तचित्र
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

فِيلْمٌ وَثائِقِيّ
280 millions of speakers
ru

Translator English - Russian

документальная программа
278 millions of speakers
pt

Translator English - Portuguese

documentário
270 millions of speakers
bn

Translator English - Bengali

তথ্যচিত্র
260 millions of speakers
fr

Translator English - French

documentaire
220 millions of speakers
ms

Translator English - Malay

Dokumentari
190 millions of speakers
de

Translator English - German

Dokumentarfilm
180 millions of speakers
ja

Translator English - Japanese

ドキュメンタリー
130 millions of speakers
ko

Translator English - Korean

다큐멘터리
85 millions of speakers
jv

Translator English - Javanese

Dokumenter
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

phim tài liệu
80 millions of speakers
ta

Translator English - Tamil

ஆவணப்படம்
75 millions of speakers
mr

Translator English - Marathi

माहितीपट
75 millions of speakers
tr

Translator English - Turkish

belgesel
70 millions of speakers
it

Translator English - Italian

documentario
65 millions of speakers
pl

Translator English - Polish

film dokumentalny
50 millions of speakers
uk

Translator English - Ukrainian

документальний фільм
40 millions of speakers
ro

Translator English - Romanian

documentar
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

ντοκιμαντέρ
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

dokumentêre
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

dokumentärfilm
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

dokumentarfilm
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of documentary

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «DOCUMENTARY»

Principal search tendencies and common uses of documentary
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «documentary».

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about documentary

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «DOCUMENTARY»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word documentary.
1
Caitriona Balfe
I saw a documentary on the Naadam festival that happens in Mongolia during the summer. One of the features of it is a horse race across the plains that all the young men enter - some as young as 12 years old. It's such a spectacular sight. It's incredible to think that this is a tradition that has been going on for centuries.
2
Simon Beaufoy
I'm a documentary filmmaker by training. You got to start with the real people and the real place.
3
Jamie Bell
I think documentary filmmaking is a braver way to make films because it's real, and you're really there.
4
Cilla Black
Well it has been very exciting and very changing as well. Celebrating the 40th year and having the album out and the Channel 4 documentary and I resigned from Blind Date.
5
Timothy Bottoms
I was driven to give the best possible performance I could based on the material that was given to me and that material was documentary footage of the President speaking to people.
6
Ken Burns
I began to feel that the drama of the truth that is in the moment and in the past is richer and more interesting than the drama of Hollywood movies. So I began looking at documentary films.
7
Leos Carax
Even a fiction film is hard to end. You can going on shooting and editing a documentary forever.
8
Leslie Cockburn
I think the greatest thing about making a documentary is your ability to just follow the story and the subject.
9
Leslie Cockburn
In documentary films, the most difficult thing to achieve is to make something complex appear simple.
10
Leslie Cockburn
When I was at graduate school in London, I began working at NBC News, which had a thriving documentary unit.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «DOCUMENTARY»

Discover the use of documentary in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to documentary and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Documentary: A History of the Non-fiction Film
Presents a history of the documentary film.
Erik Barnouw, 1993
2
For Documentary: Twelve Essays
These essays, which span twenty-five years of writing and a lifetime of experience, offer fresh and challenging insights into documentary.
Dai Vaughan, 1999
3
Documentary: The Margins of Reality
Paul Ward also discusses animated documentaries, the fertile genre of comedy, and feature-length contemporary works that have achieved widespread cinematic release.
Paul Ward, 2013
4
Introduction to Documentary
Instead, this book offers suggestive answers to basic issues that have stood at the centre of all debate on documentary from its very beginnings to today.
Bill Nichols, 2001
5
Making Documentary Films and Videos: A Practical Guide to ...
An updated edition of the classic filmmaker's handbook discusses each step in creating documentaries from conception to final film, and offers advice on capturing human behavior and recreating past events, with new advice on how to get ...
Barry Hampe, 2007
6
The Documentary Makers: Interviews with 15 of the Best in ...
An essential new collection, The Documentary Makers brings together filmmakers from four corners of the globe to reveal the process and passion behind their work.
David A. Goldsmith, 2003
7
Directing the Documentary
Just as important as surmounting technological hurdles is the conceptual and authorial side of filmmaking. This book offers eminently practical tools and exercises to help you develop credible and compelling stories.
Michael Rabiger, 2009
8
New Challenges for Documentary: Second Edition
The first edition of this book provided a major stimulus for teaching about documentary film and television and fresh encouragement for critical thinking about practice.
Alan Rosenthal, John Corner, 2005
9
Feminism and Documentary
The essays in this volume, written by prominent scholars and filmmakers, demonstrate the challenges that feminist perspectives pose for documentary theory, history, and practice.
Diane Waldman, Janet Walker, 1999
10
The Subject of Documentary
And, looking beyond the traditional documentary, Renov contemplates such nontraditional modes of autobiographical practice as the essay film, the video confession, and the personal Web page.Unique in its attention to diverse expressions of ...
Michael Renov, 2004

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «DOCUMENTARY»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term documentary is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Documentary Seeks To Free Amy Winehouse From Her Tabloid …
Kapadia's new documentary, Amy, tries to rescue the singer from the tabloid narrative by examining who she was before she was famous ... «NPR, Jul 15»
2
BBC air documentary on suffering children of Gaza, a year on from war
During an emotional documentary, she also meets Abdurahman, 12, who lost 18 members of his family and who now wants to become a ... «Jewish News, Jul 15»
3
Wildlife Documentaries Are Often Unethical and Dishonest. Happy …
Man taking photographs of a snow money in Japan. Most wildlife documentary filmmakers get into this business because they love animals, but ... «Slate Magazine, Jul 15»
4
Watch white people cry about white privilege in a new MTV …
A new MTV documentary called “White People” purports to ask the “very uncomfortable” questions about white privilege and white frustration. «Salon, Jul 15»
5
New documentary asks, 'Do I Sound Gay?'
... and if writer-director David Thorpe could get out of his own way, his documentary would hang together better. Blending the personal with the ... «New York Post, Jul 15»
6
Documentary Over Life Of Cherokee Nation's First Woman Chief In …
The same company that produces the TV show The Walking Dead and movies like Terminator and Aliens is also behind a new documentary ... «News On 6, Jul 15»
7
'Mission Pluto' Documentary to Premiere Next Week (Exclusive Video)
Space.com has an exclusive sneak peek at the new "Mission Pluto" documentary, which will premiere next week on the same day that NASA's ... «Space.com, Jul 15»
8
METALLICA Bassist ROBERT TRUJILLO's 'Jaco' Documentary On …
METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo's documentary film on the life and music of bass legend Jaco Pastorius, "Jaco - A Documentary Film", is on ... «BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Jul 15»
9
Martin Sheen Featured in Don Siegelman Documentary
A documentary is currently in production highlighting the legal troubles of former Alabama Governor Don Seigelman. A trailer for “Killing Atticus ... «WKRG, Jul 15»
10
Drama series planned following relase of 'Muscle Shoals …
FLORENCE, Ala. (WHNT) – After the 2013 release of “Muscle Shoals,” the music documentary tourism and interest exploded across the country ... «whnt.com, Jul 15»
REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Documentary [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/documentary>. Jun 2026 ».
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