noun
Meaning 1
A writer and creator of theatrical plays.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: dramatist, stagewright
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
playwright
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/ˈpleɪˌɹaɪt/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -eɪɹaɪt
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CMU ARPABET: P L EY1 R AY2 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
someone who writes plays
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: dramatist
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: writer, author
Narrower terms: Aeschylus, Albee, Edward Albee, Edward Franklin Albeen, Anderson, Maxwell Anderson, Anouilh, Jean Anouilh, Aristophanes, Barrie, James Barrie, J. M. Barrie, James Matthew Barrie, Sir James Matthew Barrie, Beaumont, Francis Beaumont, Beckett, Samuel Beckett, Brecht, Bertolt Brecht, Calderon, Calderon de la Barca, Pedro Calderon de la Barca, Capek, Karel Capek, Cervantes, Miguel de Cervantes, Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Chekhov, Chekov, Anton Chekhov, Anton Chekov, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich Chekov, Congreve, William Congreve, Corneille, Pierre Corneille, Coward, Noel Coward, Sir Noel Pierce Coward, Crouse, Russel Crouse, Cyrano de Bergerac, Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac, Dekker, Decker, Thomas Dekker, Thomas Decker, Dryden, John Dryden, Eliot, T. S. Eliot, Thomas Stearns Eliot, Euripides, Fletcher, John Fletcher, Fry, Christopher Fry, Fugard, Athol Fugard, Garcia Lorca, Frederico Garcia Lorca, Lorca, Genet, Jean Genet, Gide, Andre Gide, Andre Paul Guillaume Gide, Giraudoux, Jean Giraudoux, Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux, Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Goldoni, Carlo Goldoni, Granville-Barker, Harley Granville-Barker, Hart, Moss Hart, Havel, Vaclav Havel, Hebbel, Friedrich Hebbel, Christian Friedrich Hebbel, Hellman, Lillian Hellman, Hugo, Victor Hugo, Victor-Marie Hugo, Ibsen, Henrik Ibsen, Henrik Johan Ibsen, Inge, William Inge, Ionesco, Eugene Ionesco, Jonson, Ben Jonson, Benjamin Jonson, Kaufman, George S. Kaufman, George Simon Kaufman, Kleist, Heinrich von Kleist, Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist, Kyd, Kid, Thomas Kyd, Thomas Kid, Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Lindsay, Howard Lindsay, Luce, Clare Booth Luce, Maeterlinck, Count Maurice Maeterlinck, Mamet, David Mamet, Marlowe, Christopher Marlowe, Marstan, John Marstan, Menander, Middleton, Thomas Middleton, Miller, Arthur Miller, Moliere, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, Molnar, Ferenc Molnar, O'Casey, Sean O'Casey, Odets, Clifford Odets, O'Neill, Eugene O'Neill, Eugene Gladstone O'Neill, Osborne, John Osborne, John James Osborne, Pinter, Harold Pinter, Pirandello, Luigi Pirandello, Pitt, George Pitt, George Dibdin Pitt, George Dibdin-Pitt, Plautus, Titus Maccius Plautus, Racine, Jean Racine, Jean Baptiste Racine, Rattigan, Terence Rattigan, Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan, Rice, Elmer Rice, Elmer Leopold Rice, Elmer Reizenstein, Robinson, Lennox Robinson, Esme Stuart Lennox Robinson, Rostand, Edmond Rostand, Sartre, Jean-Paul Sartre, Scribe, Augustin Eugene Scribe, Seneca, Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Shakespeare, William Shakespeare, Shakspere, William Shakspere, Bard of Avon, Shaw, G. B. Shaw, George Bernard Shaw, Shepard, Sam Shepard, Sheridan, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Sherwood, Robert Emmet Sherwood, Simon, Neil Simon, Marvin Neil Simon, Sophocles, Stoppard, Tom Stoppard, Sir Tom Stoppard, Thomas Straussler, Strindberg, August Strindberg, Johan August Strindberg, Synge, J. M. Synge, John Millington Synge, Edmund John Millington Synge, Terence, Publius Terentius Afer, Tirso de Molina, Gabriel Tellez, Ustinov, Sir Peter Ustinov, Peter Alexander Ustinov, Vega, Lope de Vega, Lope Felix de Vega Carpio, Webster, John Webster, Wilde, Oscar Wilde, Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, Wilder, Thornton Wilder, Thornton Niven Wilder, Williams, Tennessee Williams, Thomas Lanier Williams, Wycherley, William Wycherley, Yeats, William Butler Yeats, W. B. Yeats
History
Etymology
From play + wright (“builder, craftsman”).
Across languages
Translations
85 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Arabic: كَاتِب مَسْرَحِيّ (kātib masraḥiyy) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Armenian: դրամատուրգ (dramaturg) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Armenian: թատերագիր (tʻateragir) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Azerbaijani: dramaturq — writer of plays for the theatre
- Belarusian: драмату́рг (dramatúrh) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Bulgarian: драмату́рг (dramatúrg) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Catalan: dramaturg — writer of plays for the theatre
- Catalan: dramaturga — writer of plays for the theatre
- Chinese Mandarin: 劇作家 /剧作家 (jùzuòjiā) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Chinese Mandarin: 編劇 /编剧 (biānjù) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Czech: dramatik — writer of plays for the theatre
- Danish: dramatiker — writer of plays for the theatre
- Dutch: toneelschrijver — writer of plays for the theatre
- Estonian: näitekirjanik — writer of plays for the theatre
- Estonian: dramaturg — writer of plays for the theatre
- Finnish: näytelmäkirjailija — writer of plays for the theatre
- Finnish: dramaturgi — writer of plays for the theatre
- French: dramaturge — writer of plays for the theatre
- French: auteur dramatique — writer of plays for the theatre
- Friulian: dramaturc — writer of plays for the theatre
- Galician: dramaturgo — writer of plays for the theatre
- Galician: dramaturga — writer of plays for the theatre
- Georgian: დრამატურგი (dramaṭurgi) — writer of plays for the theatre
- German: Bühnenautor — writer of plays for the theatre
- German: Bühnenautorin — writer of plays for the theatre
- German: Dramatiker — writer of plays for the theatre
- German: Dramatikerin — writer of plays for the theatre
- German: Schauspieldichter — writer of plays for the theatre
- German: Stückeschreiber — writer of plays for the theatre
- Greek: θεατρικός συγγραφέας (theatrikós syngraféas) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Greek: δραματουργός (dramatourgós) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Ancient Greek: δραματουργός (dramatourgós) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Hungarian: drámaíró — writer of plays for the theatre
- Icelandic: leikritaskáld — writer of plays for the theatre
- Irish: drámadóir — writer of plays for the theatre
- Italian: drammaturgo — writer of plays for the theatre
- Italian: drammaturga — writer of plays for the theatre
- Italian: commediografo — writer of plays for the theatre
- Italian: commediografa — writer of plays for the theatre
- Japanese: 脚本家 (kyakuhonka) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Japanese: 劇作家 (gekisakka) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Korean: 극작가 (geukjakga) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Northern Kurdish: şanonivîs — writer of plays for the theatre
- Lao: ນັກແຕ່ງບົດລະຄອນ (nak tǣng bot la khǭn) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Latin: dramaturgus — writer of plays for the theatre
- Latvian: dramaturgs — writer of plays for the theatre
- Lithuanian: dramaturgas — writer of plays for the theatre
- Macedonian: драматург (dramaturg) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Maltese: drammaturgu — writer of plays for the theatre
- Maltese: drammaturga — writer of plays for the theatre
- Maltese: kittieb — writer of plays for the theatre
- Maltese: kittieba — writer of plays for the theatre
- Manx: dramadeyr — writer of plays for the theatre
- Norwegian Bokmål: dramatiker — writer of plays for the theatre
- Occitan: dramaturg — writer of plays for the theatre
- Odia: ନାଟକୀ (nāṭaki) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Polish: dramaturg — writer of plays for the theatre
- Polish: dramaturżka — writer of plays for the theatre
- Polish: dramatopisarz — writer of plays for the theatre
- Polish: dramatopisarka — writer of plays for the theatre
- Portuguese: dramaturgo — writer of plays for the theatre
- Portuguese: dramaturga — writer of plays for the theatre
- Romanian: dramaturg — writer of plays for the theatre
- Romanian: dramaturgă — writer of plays for the theatre
- Russian: драмату́рг (dramatúrg) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Serbo-Croatian: драматург — writer of plays for the theatre
- Serbo-Croatian: dramaturg — writer of plays for the theatre
- Slovak: dramatik — writer of plays for the theatre
- Slovene: dramatik — writer of plays for the theatre
- Spanish: dramaturgo — writer of plays for the theatre
- Spanish: dramaturga — writer of plays for the theatre
- Spanish: autor teatral — writer of plays for the theatre
- Swedish: dramatiker — writer of plays for the theatre
- Tagalog: dalubdula — writer of plays for the theatre
- Tagalog: mandudula — writer of plays for the theatre
- Thai: นักแต่งบทละคร (nák-dtɛ̀ɛng-bòt-lá-kɔɔn) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Ukrainian: драмату́рг (dramatúrh) — writer of plays for the theatre
- Uzbek: dramaturg — writer of plays for the theatre
- Vietnamese: nhà soạn kịch — writer of plays for the theatre
- Volapük: dramatavan — writer of plays for the theatre
- Volapük: hidramatavan — writer of plays for the theatre
- Volapük: jidramatavan — writer of plays for the theatre
- Welsh: dramodydd — writer of plays for the theatre
- Welsh: dramodwr — writer of plays for the theatre
- Yiddish: דראַמאַטורג (dramaturg) — writer of plays for the theatre
Real reading context