Word.ws English Dictionary

in medias res

/ɪn ˌmiːdiəs ˈɹeɪz/

in medias res adverb: in the middle of a storyline.

Adverb

in medias res (not comparable)

  1. In the middle of a storyline.
    • This novel begins in medias res.
    • As in a good epic, Ulysses begins in medias res and fills us in on Stephen's life since the end of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by flashback; and by the flashback of memory we are given the story of Molly's and Bloom's lives.2008, Don Gifford, Robert J. Seidman, Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses, University of California Press, →ISBN, page 2
    Synonyms:
    in-between

Adjective

in medias res (not comparable)

  1. Beginning in the middle of its storyline: said of a work of literature or a film.
    • Although not strictly in medias res, the film uses flashbacks extensively.

Noun

in medias res (uncountable)

  1. Narrative presented in medias res.
    • Anyway, the characters have been introduced but by no means established. I know Final Fantasy’s always been big on in medias res, but even the most basic questions about the plot remain unanswered. Who the fuck are these people? What is going on? Why should I care? Can I stop playing now? Please?2010 (March 31ˢᵗ, 5:00pm): Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw, “Final Fantasy XIII” reviewed by Zero Punctuation, 2:03–2:16

Synonyms of in medias res

Origin of in medias res

Borrowed from Latin in mediās rēs (literally “into the middle of things”).

Questions about in medias res

What does in medias res mean?
In medias res means in the middle of a storyline.
What part of speech is in medias res?
In medias res can be an adverb, an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce in medias res?
In medias res is pronounced /ɪn ˌmiːdiəs ˈɹeɪz/.

Words near in medias res in the dictionary

  1. in malam partem
  2. in mass
  3. in mean time
  4. in meantime
  5. in media res
  6. in medias res
  7. in memoriam
  8. in memoriams
  9. in memorium
  10. in memory of
  11. in midstream

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: in medias res (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-in medias res.wav.

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