films characterized by subjects, actions, etc, that have the appearance of real life
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
cin•é•ma vé•ri•té /ˈsɪnəmə ˌvɛrɪˈteɪ/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Show Businessa technique of filmmaking in which the camera records actual persons and events without the director intervening or interfering.
ci•né•ma vé•ri•té
(sin′ə mə ver′i tā′; Fr. sē nā mä vā rē tā′),USA pronunciation
- Cinema, Show Businessa technique of documentary filmmaking in which the camera records actual persons and events without directorial control: introduced in France in the 1950s.
- Cinema, Show Businessa film using this technique or a simulation of it.
- French cinéma-vérité literally, cinema-truth, coined as a translation of Russian kinoprávda, a documentary technique developed by the Soviet filmmaker Dziga Vertov (1896–1954)
- 1960–65
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'cinéma vérité' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):