biopic
English
[edit]
Etymology
[edit]Clipping of biographical picture; synchronically bio + pic.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈbaɪ.əʊ.pɪk/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - (US) enPR: bīʹōpĭk, IPA(key): /ˈbaɪ.oʊ.pɪk/
- (US, nonstandard) IPA(key): /baɪˈɑp.ɪk/
Noun
[edit]biopic (plural biopics)
- (film) A motion picture based on the life (or lives) of a real, rather than fictional, person (or people).
- 2026 April 26, Catherine Shoard, “Bad movies, good business: how sanitised biopics became a Hollywood staple”, in The Guardian[1], →ISSN, archived from the original on 26 April 2026:
- This truism helps explain why the music biopic is stuck in such a compromising loop. […] Between 2000 to 2019, 55% of leading actor and actress Oscars went to performances in a biopic. Over the past four years, the genre has been responsible for 63 Oscar nominations. Yet at the same time, hagiography has resurfaced as a pre-requisite for success. […] While one might have supposed the advent of the internet could render biopics redundant – if facts and archive footage are readily accessible, why bother making stuff up?
Usage notes
[edit]Most American and British dictionaries give only the pronunciation with the first-syllable stress and the long o.[1][2]
Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]biographical film
References
[edit]- ^ “biopic”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- ^ “biopic” (US) / “biopic” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
French
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]- IPA(key): /bjɔ.pik/
Audio (Switzerland (Valais)): (file) Audio (France (Vosges)): (file) Audio (France (Saint-Étienne)): (file) Audio (France (Lyon)): (file)
Noun
[edit]biopic m (plural biopics)
- (film) biopic
- Synonyms: biografilm, film biographique
Usage notes
[edit]The term biopic is still rare in France. It is used in specialised press. For common use, use film biographique.
Spanish
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]biopic m or f (plural biopics)
Further reading
[edit]- “biopic”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
Categories:
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- en:Film genres
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- French terms derived from English
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- fr:Film genres
- Spanish terms borrowed from English
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- Rhymes:Spanish/ik
- Rhymes:Spanish/ik/2 syllables
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish countable nouns
- Spanish masculine nouns
- Spanish feminine nouns
- Spanish nouns with multiple genders
- es:Film genres