histrionic

[ his-tree-on-ik ]
See synonyms for: histrionichistrionics on Thesaurus.com

adjectiveAlso his·tri·on·i·cal.
  1. of or relating to actors or acting.

  2. deliberately affected or self-consciously emotional; overly dramatic, in behavior or speech.

noun
  1. an actor.

Origin of histrionic

1
1640–50; <Late Latin histrōnicus of actors, equivalent to histriōn- (stem of histriō) actor (said to be <Etruscan ) + -icus-ic

Other words from histrionic

  • his·tri·on·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • non·his·tri·on·ic, adjective
  • non·his·tri·on·i·cal, adjective
  • non·his·tri·on·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • non·his·tri·on·i·cal·ness, noun
  • un·his·tri·on·ic, adjective

Words Nearby histrionic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use histrionic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for histrionic

histrionic

histrionical

/ (ˌhɪstrɪˈɒnɪk) /


adjective
  1. excessively dramatic, insincere, or artificial: histrionic gestures

  2. rare dramatic

noun
  1. (plural) melodramatic displays of temperament

  2. rare (plural, functioning as singular) dramatics

Origin of histrionic

1
C17: from Late Latin histriōnicus of a player, from histriō actor

Derived forms of histrionic

  • histrionically, adverb

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