a filmmaker, producer, etc., who specializes in documentaries
2.
a writer, photographer, or other artist whose work constitutes a document or documentary of an aspect of life
Also: documentarist
Word origin
[1940–45; document(ary) + -arian]This word is first recorded in the period 1940–45. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: black box, blockbuster, debrief, sealant, set-aside
Examples of 'documentarian' in a sentence
documentarian
A comedian travel-documentarian who is not patronising, smug, self-congratulatory or obstructive.
Times, Sunday Times (2018)
It seems that the documentarian can no longer bear his adoration.
The Times Literary Supplement (2010)
This, he says, is one advantage the dramatist has over the documentarian or news reporter.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
She's a personal documentarian, one of the handful of first-person film-makers whose work is identifiable as a body.