noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
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.
Received-Pronunciation:/sɪˈnɑːɹi.əʊ/
US:/sɪˈnɛəɹioʊ/
US:/sɪˈnæɹioʊ/
US:/sɪˈnɑɹioʊ/
Australian:/səˈneːɹi.əʉ/
Australian:/səˈnæːɹi.əʉ/
Australian:/səˈnɐːɹi.əʉ/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:S IH0 N EH1 R IY0 OW0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
An outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
An outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: dated
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A screenplay itself, or an outline or a treatment of it.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: dated
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
a postulated sequence of possible events
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
planners developed several scenarios in case of an attack
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: premise, premiss, assumption
5
noun
Meaning 5
an outline or synopsis of a play (or, by extension, of a literary work)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: script, book, playscript
6
noun
Meaning 6
a setting for a work of art or literature
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
the scenario is France during the Reign of Terror
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: setting, scene
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh3-der. Ancient Greek σκηνή (skēnḗ)bor. Latin scēnabor. Italian scena Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -ārius Proto-Indo-European *-om Proto-Italic *-om Latin -um Latin -āriumbor. Italian -ario Italian scenariobor. English scenario Borrowed from Italian scenario, from scena + -ario.
Across languages
Translations
98 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Armenian:
սցենար
(scʻenar)
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Bulgarian:
сцена́рий
(scenárij)
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Catalan:
escenari
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Cebuano:
senaryo
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Dutch:
scenario
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Finnish:
skenaario
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
German:
Szenario
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Greek:
σενάριο
(senário)
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Indonesian:
skenario
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Irish:
cás
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Italian:
scenario
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Italian:
panorama
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Norwegian Bokmål:
scenario
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Norwegian Nynorsk:
scenario
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Polish:
scenariusz
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Portuguese:
cenário
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Russian:
сцена́рий
(scenárij)
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Spanish:
escenario
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Spanish:
supuesto
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Spanish:
situación hipotética
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Swedish:
scenario
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Thai:
ฉากทัศน์
(chàak-tát)
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Turkish:
senaryo
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Vietnamese:
trường hợp
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Vietnamese:
kịch bản
— outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Albanian:
skenar
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Arabic:
سِينَارْيُو
(sināryū)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Armenian:
սցենար
(scʻenar)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Belarusian:
сцэна́рый
(scenáryj)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Belarusian:
сцэна́р
(scenár)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Bulgarian:
сцена́рий
(scenárij)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Burmese:
ဇာတ်ညွှန်း
(jathnywan:)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Catalan:
argument
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Catalan:
trama
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Cebuano:
senaryo
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Chinese Mandarin:
腳本 /脚本
(jiǎoběn)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Chinese Mandarin:
場景 /场景
(chǎngjǐng)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Dutch:
scenario
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Finnish:
käsikirjoitus
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Finnish:
skenaario
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
French:
scénario
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Galician:
escenario
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Georgian:
სცენარი
(scenari)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
German:
Szenario
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
German:
Szenarium
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Greek:
σενάριο
(senário)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Hindi:
परिदृश्य
(paridŕśya)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Hungarian:
forgatókönyv
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Indonesian:
skenario
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Italian:
copione
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Japanese:
脚本
(kyakuhon)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Japanese:
台本
(daihon)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Japanese:
シナリオ
(shinario)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Kazakh:
сценарий
(ssenarii)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Khmer:
នាដកថា
(niədaʼkaʼthaa)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Korean:
각본
(gakbon)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Korean:
대본
(daebon)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Korean:
시나리오
(sinario)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Kyrgyz:
сценарий
(stsenariy)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Lao:
ບົດລະຄອນ
(bot la khǭn)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Latin:
scaenarium
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Macedonian:
сценарио
(scenario)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Malay:
senario
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Norwegian Bokmål:
scenario
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Norwegian Nynorsk:
scenario
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Iranian Persian:
سِنارْیو
(senâryo)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Polish:
scenariusz
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Portuguese:
argumento
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Romanian:
scenariu
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Russian:
сцена́рий
(scenárij)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Serbo-Croatian:
сцѐна̄рӣј
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Serbo-Croatian:
scènārīj
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Slovak:
scenár
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Slovene:
scenarij
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Spanish:
escenario
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Swedish:
scenario
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Thai:
บทละคร
(bòt-lá-kɔɔn)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Turkish:
senaryo
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Ukrainian:
сцена́рій
(scenárij)
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Vietnamese:
truyện phim
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Vietnamese:
kịch bản
— outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Armenian:
սցենար
(scʻenar)
— screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Bulgarian:
сцена́рий
(scenárij)
— screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Catalan:
guió
— screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Dutch:
scenario
— screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Finnish:
käsikirjoitus
— screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Finnish:
skenaario
— screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Greek:
σενάριο
(senário)
— screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Indonesian:
skenario
— screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Italian:
sceneggiatura
— screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Māori:
tauari
— screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Norwegian Bokmål:
scenario
— screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Norwegian Nynorsk:
scenario
— screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Iranian Persian:
سِنارْیو
(senâryo)
— screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Polish:
scenariusz
— screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Russian:
сцена́рий
(scenárij)
— screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Swedish:
scenario
— screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Turkish:
senaryo
— screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof