noun · neutral
documentary
UK/ˌdɒkjʊˈmentəri/US/ˌdɑːkjəˈmentəri/doc·u·MEN·ta·ry
A film or TV programme that gives factual information about a real situation or person.
Examples
“I watched a documentary about plastic pollution last night.”
“The documentary explored the city's history through old footage.”
“Many documentaries raise public awareness of environmental issues.”
Band 8 sentence
“The recent documentary on deforestation combined eyewitness testimony with robust scientific data, making its argument compelling.”
Collocations
- watch a documentary
- a documentary about
- award-winning documentary
Word family
Common mistakes
I watched a document about whales.→I watched a documentary about whales.
Many documentarys are informative.→Many documentaries are informative.
She made documentary last year.→She made a documentary last year.
Say it for a higher band
5film→6movie→7+documentary
Synonyms
factual programme
Easily confused
document
“Please send the original documents by email.”
report
“The reporter wrote a detailed report about the incident.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Media & Entertainment
Learn it with its set