1
as in story
a relating of events usually in the order in which they happened
wrote a witty, chatty narrative of all the happenings at the party
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2
as in tale
a work with imaginary characters and events that is shorter and usually less complex than a novel
in such narratives as "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Purloined Letter," Edgar Allan Poe essentially created the modern detective story
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of narrative
Chaos: The Manson Murders is a documentary film, described as a complex narrative of the Manson family murders.
—
Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 31 Jan. 2025
Kravitz's directorial debut crosses a timely narrative with a mighty satisfying finale.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2025
From Mesopotamian mythologies to Y2K narratives and beyond, people have long been telling tales about the end—floods, comets, plagues, and now nuclear annihilation, rogue A.I., and, yes, more plagues.
—Ian Crouch, The New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2025
Now, perhaps not unexpectedly, American tech leaders are trying to shift the narrative to make DeepSeek look like the villain.
—Allison Morrow, CNN, 30 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for narrative 
Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 31 Jan. 2025
Kravitz's directorial debut crosses a timely narrative with a mighty satisfying finale.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2025
From Mesopotamian mythologies to Y2K narratives and beyond, people have long been telling tales about the end—floods, comets, plagues, and now nuclear annihilation, rogue A.I., and, yes, more plagues.
—Ian Crouch, The New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2025
Now, perhaps not unexpectedly, American tech leaders are trying to shift the narrative to make DeepSeek look like the villain.
—Allison Morrow, CNN, 30 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for narrative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for narrative
Noun
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Get the Robb Report newsletter for similar stories delivered straight to your inbox.—
Bryan Hood,
Robb Report,
30 Jan. 2025
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Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.—
Jeffrey R. Wilson,
Smithsonian Magazine,
30 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The 57-page superseding indictment reads like a television drama, weaving a tale of influence, obedience, intimidation, an internal power struggle, drugs, guns and murder spanning multiple states and including local, regional and national chapters of the Sin City Deciples.—
Meredith Colias-Pete,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Jan. 2025
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This very Bronx tale of teenage pregnancy and inner-city strife can seem familiar in terms of content, but never in terms of form.—
Jordan Mintzer,
The Hollywood Reporter,
31 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Instead, Gracey rearranges the chronology, finding numbers that thematically match the events of his protagonist’s life.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
14 Jan. 2025
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Was the real-time format baked in from the get-go, and was that part of what excited you about a return to the genre? That calls into question all the various chronologies of this and all the different sort of iterations.—
Ryan Schwartz,
TVLine,
9 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Train Dreams is based on the 2011 Denis Johnson novella and directed by Oscar nominee Clint Bentley, who co-adapted the script with Greg Kwedar.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
30 Jan. 2025
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The passage of time is somehow both fluid and jagged in Clint Bentley’s soulful film of the Denis Johnson novella, Train Dreams.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
27 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Reid is a three-time Super Bowl-winning head coach and is the only head coach in NFL history who has recorded 100 wins with two different teams.—
Chantz Martin,
Fox News,
5 Feb. 2025
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Since assuming office, Trump has vowed to carry out the largest deportation effort in U.S. history and declared a national emergency at the southern border, deploying troops there.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2025
Noun
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According to Esper's account, Patel's carelessness carried significant risk for the SEALs.—
Daniel Klaidman,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2025
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The account also notes his roles with Rainbow Democrats and Orange County Democrats.—
Anders Hagstrom,
Fox News,
27 Jan. 2025
Noun
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But Griffith’s narration puts all the absurd scenes into context, her iconic, flirty and feminine voice gently guiding us through the film’s theatrical beats.—
Jourdain Searles,
The Hollywood Reporter,
31 Jan. 2025
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O’Shaughnessy herself provides some of the film’s voiceover narration, as does Ride, by way of old interviews re-contextualized in service to the relatively standard approach to telling a full life story.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
28 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Johnson was charged with three counts of kidnapping and one count each of impersonating a law enforcement officer, petty larceny, assault and battery, according to jail records.—
Artemis Moshtaghian,
CNN,
4 Feb. 2025
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Carl Lamarre: Quite frankly, the record is just straight heat.—
Andrew Unterberger,
Billboard,
4 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near narrative
Cite this Entry
“Narrative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/narrative. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.
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