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drama

nouncommon in dialogue

  • United Kingdom//ˈdɹɑːmə//
  • United States//ˈdɹɑmə//
  • Canada//ˈdɹæmə//
  • //ˈdɹeɪmə//

A composition, normally in prose, telling a story and intended to be represented by actors impersonating the characters and speaking the dialogue.

noun

  1. 1

    A composition, normally in prose, telling a story and intended to be represented by actors impersonating the characters and speaking the dialogue.

    The author released her latest drama, which became a best-seller.

  2. 2

    Such a work for television, radio or the cinema, usually one that is not a comedy.

  3. 3

    Theatrical plays in general.

  4. 4

    A situation in real life that has the characteristics of such a theatrical play.

    After losing my job, having a car crash, and the big row with my neighbours, I don't need any more drama.

    Thais have been gripped by the two-week drama unfolding at the Tham Luang cave system, and took to social media Sunday as rescue efforts unfolded.

  5. 5

    slangRumor, lying or exaggerated reaction to life or online events; melodrama; an angry dispute or scene; a situation made more complicated or worse than it should be; intrigue or spiteful interpersonal maneuvering.

Etymology

From Late Latin drāma, from Ancient Greek δρᾶμα (drâma, “an act, a theatrical act, a play”), from δράω (dráō, “to act, to take action, to achieve”). Doublet of dorama.

Forms

plural
dramas, dramata
The neighbouring pagesAlphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.

Lexical content from Wiktionary, under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source entry · Data version 2026-08-23

Rank among the words of the OpenSubtitles 2018 corpus — film and television subtitles, so spoken rather than written usage (CC BY-SA 3.0).