narrative

Definitions

narr (tell) + -ative (having the nature of) = 'having the nature of telling.' As a noun, that's the thing told — a story or account. As an adjective, it describes anything to do with storytelling (narrative poetry). The modern political sense grew out of the noun: if a narrative is the story being told, then 'the narrative' is the version of events someone wants you to accept — and 'controlling the narrative' means deciding which story wins.

Why It Means This

Narrative quietly became one of the most loaded words in modern English. Its plain meaning is just 'a story.' But once people realized that whoever tells the story shapes what everyone believes, 'the narrative' came to mean the controlling version of events — the one a government, campaign, or company wants the public to accept. That's why you hear 'control the narrative' and 'a false narrative': the word now carries the idea of a story being used as power.

Common Collocations

• 1.the main narrative主线叙事
• 2.narrative structure叙事结构
• 3.control the narrative掌控叙事
• 4.the official narrative官方叙事/说辞
• 5.a competing narrative相互竞争的叙事
• 6.first-person narrative第一人称叙述

Example Sentences

• 1.

  The novel weaves three separate narratives into a single story.

• 2.

  Both parties are fighting to control the narrative after the scandal.

• 3.

  She challenged the official narrative with new evidence.

• 4.

  The poem is narrative rather than lyrical, telling a clear story.

Easily Confused

narrative vs narration — A narrative is the story itself (the events and how they connect). Narration is the act of telling it, or the spoken voice-over track. A documentary has a narrative (what happened) delivered through its narration (the voice-over). Story you read → narrative; voice telling it → narration.

Synonym Comparison