Meaning & use
playwright
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Meaning
nouncountable
Someone whose work is writing scripts for the stage.
Grammar: Countable: a playwright, two playwrights.
Patterns
- a playwright of something
The playwright sat at the back of the theater during the first rehearsal.
She began her career as a poet before becoming a successful playwright.
Our school invited a local playwright to run a writing workshop.
Word forms
| plural | playwrights |
|---|
Common combinations
- award-winning playwright
- The award-winning playwright is working on a new comedy.
- a celebrated playwright
- He is a celebrated playwright whose plays tour internationally.
- young playwright
- The festival gives a stage to young playwrights.
- resident playwright
- The theater hired a resident playwright for the season.
- playwright and director
- She is both playwright and director of the company.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dramatist
- Dramatist is a slightly more formal and literary word for the same job, often used about historical writers.
- scriptwriter
- Scriptwriter is broader and also covers film and television, while playwright is specific to the stage.
- author
- Author is a general term for any writer, so it says nothing about plays unless you add detail.
Word family
Commonly confused: playwright or playwrite?
playwright vs playwrite
This spelling is a common mistake. The ending is -wright, meaning a maker, not the verb write.
Practice
Which spelling is correct for a person who writes plays?
Choose one answer.
The word is built from play plus wright, an old word for a maker, so playwright is correct. The other forms are plausible but incorrect spellings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “playwright”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.