actressy

American  

[ak-truh-see] / ˈæk trə si /

adjective

1. self-consciously stagy in style or manner; exaggeratedly theatrical.

   an actressy reading that distorted the character of Ophelia.

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actressy British  

/ ˈæktrɪsɪ /

adjective

1. exaggerated and affected in manner; theatrical

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Etymology

Origin of actressy

First recorded in 1895–1900; actress + -y ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

actressy

At my toughest moments — it sounds very dramatic and actressy — but I would try to summon her in my funny little beige plastic-lined trailer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2020

She had, one editor recalled, “a particularly actressy voice.”

From Washington Post ● Nov. 8, 2016

Ms. Sherman had already completed her now-classic “Film Stills,” dressing up in actressy guises and musing on the malleability of female identity.

From New York Times ● Jun. 26, 2015

It’s a remarkably unsentimental performance, free of actressy self-enjoyment: Kelli is no noble martyred war hero but a troubled woman who can be self-pitying, ungrateful, and infuriatingly passive.

From Slate ● Feb. 10, 2012

And not a bit stagey or actressy, and rather what you call an uncut diamond—a gem in her way, but not fine beur, not exactly.

From The Judgment House by Gilbert Parker

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