# scenario

Pronunciation: US say "si-NAIR-ee-oh" /sɪˈnɛəɹioʊ/; UK say "si-NAH-ree-oh" /sɪˈnɑːɹi.əʊ/; AUS say "suh-NAY-ree-oh" /səˈneːɹi.əʉ/

## Noun

1. A sketch or model of how events are expected or imagined to unfold.
   - Simple: A description of how something might happen, often used to plan ahead.
   - _The team mapped out a best-case scenario and a worst-case scenario for the merger._
   - _Analysts modeled several scenarios for how the epidemic might unfold._

## Noun

2. A film's screenplay, or an outline or treatment prepared for it. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A film script, or a short outline of one.
   - _The studio bought the scenario but demanded major changes before production._
   - _Early silent-film companies employed dozens of writers to churn out scenarios._
3. A plot summary for a play, novel, or other work of drama or literature. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A short outline of the story in a play or book.
   - _The program included a scenario of each act to help the audience follow the opera._
   - _Critics praised the tight scenario underlying the tragedy's three acts._

## Origin

Borrowed from Italian scenario, formed from scena ("scene") plus the suffix -ario. The word traces back through Latin scēna to Ancient Greek σκηνή (skēnḗ).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/scenario (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).