dramatic
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to the drama.
- Synonyms:
- theatrical
-
employing the form or manner of the drama.
-
characteristic of or appropriate to the drama, especially in involving conflict or contrast; vivid; moving.
dramatic colors;
a dramatic speech.
-
highly effective; striking.
The silence following his impassioned speech was dramatic.
- Synonyms:
- sensational, startling
adjective
-
of or relating to drama
-
like a drama in suddenness, emotional impact, etc
-
striking; effective
-
acting or performed in a flamboyant way
-
music (of a voice) powerful and marked by histrionic quality
Other Word Forms
- dramatically adverb
- nondramatic adjective
- overdramatic adjective
- predramatic adjective
- pseudodramatic adjective
- quasi-dramatic adjective
- semidramatic adjective
- undramatic adjective
Etymology
Origin of dramatic
First recorded in 1580–90; from Late Latin drāmaticus, from Greek drāmatikós, equivalent to drāmat- (stem of drâma ) drama + -ikos -ic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hotter furnaces and better steel, he reminds us, produced powerful engines for agriculture and energy generation and led to dramatic gains in food production and long-distance transportation.
Within a few hundred thousand years of this dramatic increase, the earliest known microfossils of eukaryotes appear in the fossil record.
From Science Daily
With the seconds melting away, team captain Hilary Knight redirected a Laila Edwards slap shot between her legs and into the net to tie the score at 1-1—a dramatic goal to force overtime.
The United States need an extra end to beat Switzerland 7-6 in a dramatic finish to qualify for the women's curling semi-finals, knocking Great Britain out of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
From BBC
But so far there have been no dramatic changes.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.