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screenplayA script written for a film, including dialogue, stage directions, and camera instructions

Part of speech: NOUN

Definition: A script written for a film, including dialogue, stage directions, and camera instructions

Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈskriːnˌpleɪ/

Example Sentences

  • She spent three years writing a screenplay about a vampire who's afraid of blood.
  • The screenplay was so boring that even the actors fell asleep while reading it.
  • His screenplay won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

screenplay

NOUN

[/ˈskriːnˌpleɪ/]

A script written for a film, including dialogue, stage directions, and camera instructions

Director reviewing film script
💡 Concept

Director reviewing film script

Perfect your screenplay through endless display and replay!
🎵 Rhyme

Perfect your screenplay through endless display and replay!

Got the picture? Now let's practice.

🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/ˈskriːnˌpleɪ/
🇬🇧 UK/ˈskriːnˌpleɪ/

🌳Etymology

Rootscreen
Suffix-play

Origin

Screenplay emerged in the early 20th century as a compound word accompanying the development of the film industry. It combines 'screen' (referring to the cinema screen) and 'play' (drama or theatrical performance), literally meaning 'a play for the screen,' to denote a film script or scenario.

Breakdown

screen (cinema display surface) + play (dramatic work or script). The compound combines the medium (screen) with the literary form (play) to create a new word for cinema-specific written works.

🎵Rhyme

displayreplayfair play
display
replay
fair play

🔗Collocations

write a screenplay
original screenplay
screenplay adaptation
screenplay format
award-winning screenplay
screenplay writer

📝Examples

😄 Fun example

She spent three years writing a screenplay about a vampire who's afraid of blood.

😄 Fun example

The screenplay was so boring that even the actors fell asleep while reading it.

His screenplay won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

The screenplay adaptation faithfully captured the essence of the novel.

📚Related Words

Synonyms

scriptscenariofilmscriptshooting script

Antonyms

improvisationad-lib

Related

directorproducerscreenwriterdialoguescene

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