noun

drama

DRAH-muh/ˈdrɑːmə/

A work portraying conflict through enacted characters.

The new drama follows two sisters fighting over their family home.

Two adult actors in an emotionally tense stage scene, one urgently reaches toward another who turns away, dramatic lighting and expressive faces, no violence or writing.

Etymology

Greek drāma linked an action or deed with a play that presents action. The theatrical sense broadened to a sequence of events leading to a climax, connecting it with tense or emotional situations.

In context

Nacho Kids LLC53:42

there were affairs. My dad wasn't the best person the stepmom wasn't the best person. There was just I guess drama in the relationships.

214: Stepmom Treated With Disdain And Disrespect

More examples

Our theater group performs a drama about a divided town.
She prefers historical dramas to action movies.
Each episode of this courtroom drama presents a difficult moral choice.

Forms

drama · dramas

dramatist noun — A person who writes plays for performance.

dramatic adjective — Relating to plays or their performance.

Similar words

play: Usually intended for the stage rather than the screen.
tragedy: Centers on suffering and typically ends in disaster.
melodrama: Emphasizes exaggerated emotion and sensational conflict rather than realism.