theatrical

[thee-a-tri-kuhl]

adjective

1. of or relating to the theater or dramatic presentations.

   theatrical performances.

2. suggestive of the theater or of acting; artificial, pompous, spectacular, or extravagantly histrionic.

   a theatrical display of grief.

   Synonyms: extravagant, stagy, melodramatic, exaggerated

noun

1. theatricals,

   1. dramatic performances, now especially as given by amateurs.

   2. artificial or histrionic actions.

2. a professional actor.

   a family of renowned theatricals.

theatrical

/ θɪˈætrɪkəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the theatre or dramatic performances

2. exaggerated and affected in manner or behaviour; histrionic

Other Word Forms

• theatricality noun
• theatricalness noun
• theatrically adverb
• half-theatrical adjective
• nontheatric adjective
• nontheatrical adjective
• nontheatrically adverb
• overtheatrical adjective
• overtheatrically adverb
• overtheatricalness noun
• quasi-theatrical adjective
• quasi-theatrically adverb
• semitheatric adjective
• semitheatrical adjective
• semitheatrically adverb
• untheatric adjective
• untheatrical adjective
• untheatrically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of theatrical¹

1550–60; < Late Latin theātric ( us ) < Greek theātrikós, equivalent to theā́tr ( on ) theater + -ikos -ic + -al ¹

Example Sentences

“It is hard to overstate the intensity” of Mr. Byrne’s “need for recognition and approval,” Mr. Gould tells us, “from a select group of musical, visual, and theatrical artists and critics, centered in New York.”

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The arias and duets, which are almost always slowly paced and formless, lack that visceral, theatrical punch and do not musically distinguish one character from another.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

That’s the big-picture pitch for “People in the Dark,” a new interactive theatrical production from DrownedOut Productions, a young troupe creating a bit of buzz on the local immersive theater scene.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

That was a major summertime theatrical release, whereas “Peacemaker” is still being discovered by the broader public.

Read more on Salon

The movie’s theatrical release occurred less than two weeks before the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• campy 
• comic 
• exaggerated 
• melodramatic 
• operatic 
• showy