pantomime
the art or technique of conveying emotions, actions, feelings, etc., by gestures without speech.
a play or entertainment in which the performers express themselves mutely by gestures, often to the accompaniment of music.
significant gesture without speech.
an actor in dumb show, as in ancient Rome.
Also called Christmas pantomime. a form of theatrical spectacle common in England during the Christmas season, generally adapted from a fairy tale and including stock character types who perform songs and dances, tell jokes, etc.
to represent or express in pantomime.
to express oneself in pantomime.
Origin of pantomime
1Other words from pantomime
- pan·to·mim·ic [pan-tuh-mim-ik], /ˌpæn təˈmɪm ɪk/, pan·to·mim·i·cal, adjective
- pan·to·mim·i·cal·ly, adverb
- pan·to·mim·ic·ry, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use pantomime in a sentence
The big lunk made a grab at the girl, and I whipped out my skean and pantomimed.
The Door Through Space | Marion Zimmer BradleyHe laughed and shook his head in a well-pantomimed incredulity, representing popular opinion outside.
The Magnetic North | Elizabeth Robins (C. E. Raimond)Earnestly we pantomimed stretcher beds—our own stretcher beds—and reposeful slumber thereon.
Sometimes he turned and pantomimed as ably and fiercely as a man being stung by a thousand hornets.
Wounds in the rain | Stephen CraneThe guide was pantomimed by our fat man for a conservative pace becoming the hot morning and the difficult route.
British Dictionary definitions for pantomime
/ (ˈpæntəˌmaɪm) /
(in Britain)
a kind of play performed at Christmas time characterized by farce, music, lavish sets, stock roles, and topical jokes: Sometimes shortened to: panto
(as modifier): a pantomime horse
a theatrical entertainment in which words are replaced by gestures and bodily actions
action without words as a means of expression
(in ancient Rome) an actor in a dumb show
informal, mainly British a confused or farcical situation
another word for mime (def. 5)
Origin of pantomime
1Derived forms of pantomime
- pantomimic (ˌpæntəˈmɪmɪk), adjective
- pantomimist (ˈpæntəˌmaɪmɪst), noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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