documentary.

1. Consisting of or supported by written or recorded documents.

2. A film or program presenting factual subjects rather than a fictional story.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• documentary evidence
• documentary record

On the page

Documentary evidence contradicted the oral account.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Normally non-gradable; no ordinary comparative or superlative.. Noun singular documentary; plural documentaries. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: analysis, evaluation. Commonness: moderately common.