What does "diegetic" mean?

Of or relating to diegesis; existing within a fictional universe (rather than as background), and able to be perceived by the characters.

What is a synonym for "diegetic"?

Common synonyms include: in-universe, intradiegetic, narrative, narrative.

Pronounced //ˌdaɪ.əˈdʒɛ.tɪk//.

//ˌdaɪ.əˈdʒɛ.tɪk// adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Adjective

1
Of or relating to diegesis; existing within a fictional universe (rather than as background), and able to be perceived by the characters. not-comparable

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek διηγητικός (diēgētikós). By surface analysis, diegesis + -etic.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.