drama Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
    dramatic play; play.
    • he wrote several plays but only one was produced on Broadway
  2. noun an episode that is turbulent or highly emotional
    dramatic event.
  3. noun the literary genre of works intended for the theater
  4. noun the quality of being arresting or highly emotional

WordNet

Dra"ma noun
Etymology
L. drama, Gr. , fr. to do, act; cf. Lith. daryti.
Definitions
  1. A composition, in prose or poetry, accommodated to action, and intended to exhibit a picture of human life, or to depict a series of grave or humorous actions of more than ordinary interest, tending toward some striking result. It is commonly designed to be spoken and represented by actors on the stage.
    A divine pastoral drama in the Song of Solomon. Milton.
  2. A series of real events invested with a dramatic unity and interest. "The drama of war." Thackeray.
    Westward the course of empire takes its way; The four first acts already past, A fifth shall close the drama with the day; Time's noblest offspring is the last. Berkeley.
    The drama and contrivances of God's providence. Sharp.
  3. Dramatic composition and the literature pertaining to or illustrating it; dramatic literature. ✍ The principal species of the drama are tragedy and comedy; inferior species are tragi-comedy, melodrama, operas, burlettas, and farces. J. A. Symonds.

Webster 1913