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narrative

nar·ra·tiveUK /ˈnæɹ.ə.tɪv/adjective, noun

narrative is spelled N-A-R-R-A-T-I-V-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables (nar·ra·tive). It appears 25 times per million words in written English, the 3,683rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, narrative means “Telling a story” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in narrative?

Letters9: N-A-R-R-A-T-I-V-E
Syllables3: nar·ra·tive
In writing25 times per million words; the 3,683rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is narrative?

Narrative appears 25 times per million words in written English, the 3,683rd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce narrative?

  • UK /ˈnæɹ.ə.tɪv/
  • /ˈnɛɹ.ə.tɪv/
  • [ˈnɛɹəɾɪv]

Narrative has 3 syllables, split nar·ra·tive in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-narrative.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with narrative?

One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as narrative from its last stressed vowel (/æɹətɪv/, British pronunciation):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of narrative

  • more narrative comparative
  • most narrative superlative
  • narratives plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does narrative mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Telling a story.

  2. 2

    Overly talkative; garrulous.

  3. 3

    Of or relating to narration.

    the narrative thrust of a film

noun

  1. 1

    The systematic recitation of an event or series of events.

  2. 2

    That which is narrated.

  3. 3

    A representation of an event or story in a way to promote a certain point of view.

    changing, controlling the narrative

  4. 4

    A manner of conveying a story, fictional or otherwise, in a body of work.

    The plot is full of holes, but the narrative is extremely compelling.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Narrative in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchnarratif (telling a story), récit, narration (systematic recitation of an event)
Germanerzählend, erzählerisch, in erzählender Form darlegend (telling a story), Erzählung (systematic recitation of an event), ausschweifend, geschwätzig (overly talkative)
Spanishnarrativo (telling a story), narrativa (systematic recitation of an event), narración (which is narrated), relato, marco (a representation of an event or story in a way…)
Portuguesenarrativa (systematic recitation of an event)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does narrative come from?

Borrowed from Middle Scots narrative, nerrative, from Middle French narratif, from Latin narrātīvus, from narrō (“to narrate”). By surface analysis, Latin narr- + -ate + -ive.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after narrative