documentary

Everyday

1. A documentary is a film or TV programme about real people, places and events, giving facts and information. tree →
2. Documentary (adjective) means made of documents, as in «documentary evidence». tree →

In the lessons

In school, classes watch nature documentaries (like those by David Attenborough) and history documentaries. In media lessons, pupils learn that documentaries can still choose what to show, so they are not always neutral. In law, documentary evidence is written proof.

Examples

• We watched a documentary about penguins. tree →
• The documentary showed real footage from the war. tree →
• Sir David Attenborough makes nature documentaries. tree →
• Our class made a short documentary about recycling. tree →
• Is this a documentary or a made-up story? tree →
• There is documentary evidence that the castle was built by the king. tree →

Note

Plural: documentaries. A documentary is non-fiction but can still have a point of view.