narrator

or nar·rat·er

[ nar-ey-ter, na-rey‑, nar-uh‑ ]

noun

1. a person who gives an account or tells the story of events, experiences, etc.
2. a person who adds spoken commentary to a film, television program, slide show, etc.

narrator

/ nəˈreɪtə /

noun

1. a person who tells a story or gives an account of something
2. a person who speaks in accompaniment of a film, television programme, etc

narrator

1. A person who tells a story; in literature, the voice that an author takes on to tell a story. This voice can have a personality quite different from the author's. For example, in his story “The Tell-Tale Heart,” Edgar Allan Poe makes his narrator a raving lunatic.

Word History and Origins

Origin of narrator¹

First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin narrātor “narrator, historian” narrate ( def ), -or ²( def )

Example Sentences

Burns’ cyclical, sardonic prose underscores the unnamed narrator’s defenselessness against neighborhood gossip that marks the Milkman’s unwanted attentions as consensual.

From Los Angeles Times

Ensuring that you won’t have to work out any of the series’ themes for yourself, narrator Coop sounds a little like Joan Didion.

From Los Angeles Times

“Oakland in ’87 was hella wild,” gloats rapper Too Short, the film’s narrator.

From Los Angeles Times

Ostensibly, the narrator is going to Arkansas because their mom has asked them to come and help her find their father, who has disappeared again.

From Los Angeles Times

The narrator is an actor worried about her faltering play; a lunch with a much younger man upends her world.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• author
• chronicler
• novelist
• writer