Words / B2

NAR-uh-tiv/ˈnærətɪv/

A narrative is a connected account of events, or the way a story is framed: a first-person narrative, the official narrative, a competing narrative. Story is everyday; account is more factual; discourse is more academic. Narrative can be an adjective (narrative structure). In news analysis, control the narrative means shape how the public understands events. Do not call a shopping list a narrative, and do not use it as a long word for “lie” unless you mean a framed account.

Meaning

A spoken or written account of connected events; also the way a story is told.

Examples

• “The official narrative does not match the witness reports.”
• “The official narrative blamed weather; local reporting blamed maintenance.”
• “Her dissertation compared narrative technique in two wartime diaries.”

Good to know

a narrative of events; the official / competing narrative. Everyday: story. Academic: narrative structure. Not a shopping list or a casual synonym for lie.

Near in meaning

account

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