I. doc‧u‧men‧ta‧ry¹ /ˌdɒkjəˈmentəri◂, ˌdɒkjʊˈmentəri◂ $ ˌdɑːk-/ noun (plural documentaries) [countable]
a film or a television or radio programme that gives detailed information about a particular subject
documentary on/about
A local film crew is making a documentary about volcanoes.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. documentary² adjective [only before noun]
[Word Family: noun: document, documentation; verb: document; adjective: documentary]

1. documentary films, programmes, photographs etc give or show information about a particular subject:
documentary films

2. consisting of or written on documents
documentary evidence/proof
One of the most useful sources of documentary evidence is maps.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

documentary
noun
ADJ. dramatized | fly-on-the-wall | film, radio, television/TV | controversial | science, wildlife, etc. | half-hour, hour-long, forty-minute, etc.
VERB + DOCUMENTARY make She has made a television documentary on poverty in our cities.
film | show | see, watch
DOCUMENTARY + NOUN feature, film, programme, series
PREP. in a/the ~ There were some interesting interviews in the documentary.
~ about/on a documentary about identical twins

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

film especially British English, movie especially American English a series of images that tell a story and are shown in a cinema or on television:
What’s your favourite movie?
It won the award for best foreign film.
a made-for-TV movie
motion picture formal (also picture) a film – used especially by people who make films or by critics:
a major Hollywood motion picture
Tell us about your latest picture.
blockbuster informal a very successful film:
Steven Spielberg’s latest Hollywood blockbuster
flick informal a film – a very informal use:
an action flick
documentary a film that gives detailed information and facts about a particular subject:
a documentary on the rain forest
feature film a film made to be shown in cinemas:
The book was later made into a full-length feature film starring Sean Penn.
comedy a film intended to make people laugh:
Monroe appeared in a number of comedies.
romantic comedy (also romcom British English informal) a film about two people who are in love, which is intended to make the people who watch it feel happy:
‘Notting Hill’ is a romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.
thriller an exciting film, especially about murder or serious crimes:
‘The Birds’ is a classic Hitchcock thriller.
film noir a film that shows strong feelings of fear or evil and whose characters are often immoral, or these films in general:
‘The Big Sleep’ is a classic Hollywood film noir.
action film/movie a film that has lots of fighting, explosions etc:
Stallone’s latest action movie
horror film/movie a frightening film about ghosts, murders etc:
She loves watching old horror movies.
western a film with cowboys in it:
John Wayne is famous for making westerns.
science fiction film/movie (also sci-fi film/movie informal) a film about imaginary events in the future or in outer space:
‘2001’ is probably the most famous sci-fi movie ever made.
gangster film/movie a film about violent criminals
silent film/movie an old film without any sound:
The 1920s were the golden age of silent movies.
an independent film/movie a film made by a small film company
animated film/movie/cartoon a film with characters that are drawn or made using a computer:
One of his first animated films was ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’.
anime /ˈænɪmeɪ, -mə/ a type of Japanese animated film, which often has a science fiction story:
Miyazaki’s anime film ‘Spirited Away’ became an international success.
an anime character
CGI the use of computers to create characters and images in a film:
The film uses CGI.
Disney’s latest CGI movie
short a short film, usually shown before a longer movie in the cinema:
an animated short
trailer a series of short scenes from a film or programme, shown in order to advertise it in a cinema, on television etc:
We had to sit through all the trailers.
actor a man or woman who acts in a film:
a previously unknown actor
Brando was one of Hollywood’s greatest actors.
actress a woman who acts in a film. Women who appear in films or plays usually prefer to be called actors:
She was the actress who played Scarlet O'Hara in ‘Gone with the Wind’.
star a famous actor or actress:
He looked liked a movie star.
a hotel which was used by the stars
director the person who tells the actors and actresses in a film what to do:
The director of the film is Quentin Tarantino.
producer the person who makes the arrangements for a film to be made and controls the budget
film/movie crew the people operating the camera, lights etc who help the director make a film

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

programme British English, program American English /ˈprəʊɡræm/ something that you watch on television, or listen to on the radio:
What’s your favourite television programme?
I watched an interesting programme about Egypt last night.
show /ʃəʊ/ a programme on television or the radio, especially an informal one in which people talk together, take part in a game etc:
a late-night talk show
game shows
She hosts a weekly call-in radio show called ‘Got a question?’
documentary /ˌdɒkjɑˈmentəri◂ $ ˌdɑːk-/ a programme that gives you facts and information about a serious subject, such as history, science, or social problems:
a documentary about homeless people
a 50-minute television documentary
soap opera/soap /ˈsəʊp ˌɒpərə $ -ˌɑː-, səʊp/ a television or radio programme that tells an imaginary story about a group of people and their lives, and is often broadcast regularly for many years:
the Australian soap opera ‘Neighbours’
the huge success of television soaps
sitcom /ˈsɪtkɒm $ -kɑːm/ an amusing programme in which there is a different story each week about the same group of people:
the American sitcom ‘Friends’
reality TV television programmes that show real people in funny situations or situations in which they must compete with each other. Often the people are filmed continuously for weeks or months:
the reality TV show ‘Big Brother’
The trouble with reality TV is that a lot of the time it’s really boring.
webcast a programme, event etc that is broadcast on the Internet:
Universities may record and broadcast some lectures as webcasts.
podcast a file of recorded sound and sometimes pictures that you can download from the Internet:
The interview is available as a podcast.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

short not long:
I lived in Tokyo for a short time.
Smokers have a shorter life expectancy than non-smokers.
brief especially written lasting only for a short time. Brief is more formal than short, and is used especially in written English:
The President will make a brief visit to Seattle today.
He coached Hingis for a brief period in the 1990s.
quick [only before noun] taking a short time to do something:
I had a quick look at the map.
He had a quick shower and then went out.
short-lived lasting only for a short time – used especially when someone wishes that a good situation had been able to last for longer:
short-lived success
The ceasefire was short-lived.
a short-lived romance
short-lived optimism about the economy
fleeting lasting only for an extremely short time – used especially when someone wishes that something had been able to last for longer:
a fleeting visit
a fleeting smile
She caught a fleeting glimpse of him.
a fleeting moment of happiness
a fleeting thought
momentary lasting for a very short time – used especially about feelings or pauses:
There was a momentary pause in the conversation.
The momentary panic ended when he found his two-year-old son waiting happily outside the store.
passing [only before noun] lasting only for a short time – used especially when people are only interested in something or mention something for a short time:
passing fashions
He made only a passing reference to war.
It’s just a passing phase (=it will end soon).
ephemeral formal lasting only for a short time, and ending quickly like everything else in this world:
Beauty is ephemeral.
the ephemeral nature of our existence
His wealth proved to be ephemeral.
not very tall quite short. This phrase sounds more gentle than saying that someone is short:
She wasn’t very tall – maybe about 1.60 m.
small short and with a small body:
My mother was a small woman.
The girl was quite small for her age (=smaller than other girls of the same age).
petite used about a woman who is attractively short and thin:
She was a petite woman with blonde hair.
stocky used about a boy or man who is short, heavy, and strong:
Harry was stocky and middle-aged.
dumpy short and fat:
a dumpy girl with red hair
diminutive formal literary very short or small – used especially in descriptions in novels:
a diminutive figure dressed in black
stubby stubby fingers or toes are short and thick:
the baby’s stubby little fingers
film especially British English, movie especially American English a series of images that tell a story and are shown in a cinema or on television:
What’s your favourite movie?
It won the award for best foreign film.
a made-for-TV movie
motion picture formal (also picture) a film – used especially by people who make films or by critics:
a major Hollywood motion picture
Tell us about your latest picture.
blockbuster informal a very successful film:
Steven Spielberg’s latest Hollywood blockbuster
flick informal a film – a very informal use:
an action flick
documentary a film that gives detailed information and facts about a particular subject:
a documentary on the rain forest
feature film a film made to be shown in cinemas:
The book was later made into a full-length feature film starring Sean Penn.
comedy a film intended to make people laugh:
Monroe appeared in a number of comedies.
romantic comedy (also romcom British English informal) a film about two people who are in love, which is intended to make the people who watch it feel happy:
‘Notting Hill’ is a romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.
thriller an exciting film, especially about murder or serious crimes:
‘The Birds’ is a classic Hitchcock thriller.
film noir a film that shows strong feelings of fear or evil and whose characters are often immoral, or these films in general:
‘The Big Sleep’ is a classic Hollywood film noir.
action film/movie a film that has lots of fighting, explosions etc:
Stallone’s latest action movie
horror film/movie a frightening film about ghosts, murders etc:
She loves watching old horror movies.
western a film with cowboys in it:
John Wayne is famous for making westerns.
science fiction film/movie (also sci-fi film/movie informal) a film about imaginary events in the future or in outer space:
‘2001’ is probably the most famous sci-fi movie ever made.
gangster film/movie a film about violent criminals
silent film/movie an old film without any sound:
The 1920s were the golden age of silent movies.
an independent film/movie a film made by a small film company
animated film/movie/cartoon a film with characters that are drawn or made using a computer:
One of his first animated films was ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’.
anime /ˈænɪmeɪ, -mə/ a type of Japanese animated film, which often has a science fiction story:
Miyazaki’s anime film ‘Spirited Away’ became an international success.
an anime character
CGI the use of computers to create characters and images in a film:
The film uses CGI.
Disney’s latest CGI movie
trailer a series of short scenes from a film or programme, shown in order to advertise it in a cinema, on television etc:
We had to sit through all the trailers.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲