Meaning & use
narrate
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To tell a story or describe a series of events in speech or writing.
Grammar: Can take an object (narrate a story) or be used without one (the character narrates in the first person).
Patterns
- narrate something
- narrate in something
- narrate for someone
She narrated the events of that summer with great detail.
The novel is narrated by a young boy.
He can narrate a complicated story in just a few minutes.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To provide the spoken commentary for a film, television program, or other presentation.
Grammar: Often used with 'for' or without an object: narrate a documentary; she narrates for the series.
Patterns
- narrate a documentary
- narrate for something
The famous actor agreed to narrate the nature documentary.
She narrates for several audiobook publishers.
The film is narrated by the main character.
Word forms
| third person singular | narrates |
|---|---|
| past tense | narrated |
| past participle | narrated |
| -ing form | narrating |
Common combinations
- narrate a story
- The teacher asked each student to narrate a story from their childhood.
- narrate a documentary
- David Attenborough has narrated many famous documentaries.
- narrate in the first person
- The book is narrated in the first person by a detective.
- narrate an audiobook
- She earns a living by narrating audiobooks.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tell
- Tell is more general and can be used for any information; narrate suggests a structured, detailed account of events.
- relate
- Relate is more formal and often used for factual accounts; narrate often implies storytelling.
- recount
- Recount means to tell someone about something that happened, often in detail; narrate can also mean to provide commentary for a film.
Word family
Commonly confused: narrate or relate?
narrate vs relate
Relate can mean to tell a story, but it also means to make a connection between things; narrate is only about telling events.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'narrate' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Narrate means to tell a story or provide commentary, so narrating a documentary is correct. The other options use narrate with objects that cannot be told or commented on, which does not make sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “narrate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.