scenario

sce·na·ri·o
S1C3E1N1A1R1I1O1
UK/sɪˈnɑːɹi.əʊ/US/sɪˈnɛəɹioʊ/US/sɪˈnæɹioʊ/US/sɪˈnɑɹioʊ/

noun

An outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events.

OriginItalian scenario ← Latin scēna ← Ancient Greek σκηνή (skēnḗ) →
CommonScrabble 10
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounscenario (plural scenarios or (rare) scenari)

plural scenarios · plural rare scenari

  1. An outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events.

    The researchers believe there are two possible scenarios that have placed J1249+36 on its swift path.

    2024 August 21, Ashley Strickland, “An unusual object is moving so fast it could escape the Milky Way. Scientists aren’t certain what it is”, in CNN
    1 more example

    Hearts were keen to avoid a repeat of the scenario at this stage of last season's competition, when they found themselves two goals down inside the opening quarter of an hour.

    2012 August 23, Alasdair Lamont, “Hearts 0-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport
  2. datedAn outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work.
  3. datedA screenplay itself, or an outline or a treatment of it.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
screenplaystate

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)ḱeh₃-
  2. Ancient Greekσκηνή (skēnḗ)
  3. Latinscēna
  4. Italianscena
  5. Italianscenario
  6. Englishscenario

Borrowed from Italian scenario, from scena + -ario.

More words from Italian

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic سِينَارْيُو
  • سِينَارْيُو (sināryū)outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Bulgarian сцена́рий, сцена́рий
  • сцена́рий (scenárij)outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • сцена́рий (scenárij)outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • сцена́рий (scenárij)screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Catalan escenari, argument
  • escenarioutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • argumentoutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • tramaoutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • guióscreenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Chinese Mandarin 腳本 /脚本, 場景 /场景
  • 腳本 /脚本 (jiǎoběn)outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • 場景 /场景 (chǎngjǐng)outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Dutch scenario, scenario
  • scenariooutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • scenariooutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • scenarioscreenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Finnish skenaario, käsikirjoitus
  • skenaariooutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • käsikirjoitusoutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • skenaariooutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • käsikirjoitusscreenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
  • skenaarioscreenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
French scénario
  • scénariooutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
German Szenario, Szenario
  • Szenariooutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • Szenariooutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • Szenariumoutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Greek σενάριο, σενάριο
  • σενάριο (senário)outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • σενάριο (senário)outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • σενάριο (senário)screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Hindi परिदृश्य
  • परिदृश्य (paridŕśya)outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Hungarian forgatókönyv
  • forgatókönyvoutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Indonesian skenario, skenario
  • skenariooutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • skenariooutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • skenarioscreenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Irish cás
  • cásoutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
Italian scenario, panorama
  • scenariooutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • panoramaoutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • copioneoutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • sceneggiaturascreenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Japanese 脚本, 台本
  • 脚本 (kyakuhon)outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • 台本 (daihon)outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • シナリオ (shinario)outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Korean 각본, 대본
  • 각본 (gakbon)outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • 대본 (daebon)outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • 시나리오 (sinario)outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Latin scaenarium
  • scaenariumoutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Malay senario
  • senariooutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Māori tauari
  • tauariscreenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Norwegian Bokmål scenario, scenario
  • scenariooutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • scenariooutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • scenarioscreenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Polish scenariusz, scenariusz
  • scenariuszoutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • scenariuszoutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • scenariuszscreenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Portuguese cenário, argumento
  • cenáriooutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • argumentooutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Romanian scenariu
  • scenariuoutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Russian сцена́рий, сцена́рий
  • сцена́рий (scenárij)outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • сцена́рий (scenárij)outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • сцена́рий (scenárij)screenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Slovak scenár
  • scenároutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Spanish escenario, supuesto
  • escenariooutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • supuestooutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • situación hipotéticaoutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • escenariooutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Swedish scenario, scenario
  • scenariooutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • scenariooutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • scenarioscreenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Thai ฉากทัศน์, บทละคร
  • ฉากทัศน์ (chàak-tát)outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • บทละคร (bòt-lá-kɔɔn)outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Turkish senaryo, senaryo
  • senaryooutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • senaryooutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • senaryoscreenplay or an outline or treatment thereof
Ukrainian сцена́рій
  • сцена́рій (scenárij)outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
Vietnamese trường hợp, kịch bản
  • trường hợpoutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • kịch bảnoutline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events
  • truyện phimoutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work
  • kịch bảnoutline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

acrosine
Cite this entry
APA

scenario. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scenario

MLA

“scenario.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scenario. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scenario,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scenario.

Source: scenario on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.