dramatize

[dram-uh-tahyz, drah-muh-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dramatize ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), dram·a·tized, dram·a·tiz·ing.

to put into a form suitable for acting on a stage.

to express or represent vividly, emotionally, or strikingly: He dramatizes his woes with sobs and sighs.

verb (used without object), dram·a·tized, dram·a·tiz·ing.

to express oneself in a dramatic or exaggerated way.

Also especially British, dram·a·tise.

Origin of dramatize

1770–80; < Greek drāmat- (see dramatic) + -ize

Related formsdram·a·tiz·a·ble, adjectivedram·a·tiz·er, nouno·ver·dram·a·tize, verb, o·ver·dram·a·tized, o·ver·dram·a·tiz·ing.un·dram·a·tiz·a·ble, adjectiveun·dram·a·tized, adjectivewell-dram·a·tized, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dramatize

The American Apparel adverts are deemed tacky and offensive because they dramatize, brazenly, the sex-drenched time we live in.
In Defense of American Apparel: Why a Hitched-Up Skirt Barely Conceals a Profound Social Confusion|Tim Teeman|August 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It's difficult to imagine anyone better equipped to dramatize these questions than the show's creators.
‘The Leftovers’ Review: A Fever Dream You Can’t Wake Up From|Andrew Romano|June 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Because it's too cautious to dramatize real problems and too reductive to tackle them realistically.
Generic and Superficial ‘Tyrant’ Amerisplains the Middle East|Andrew Romano|June 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fosse uses poetic dialogue, with rhythmic repetitions and silences, to dramatize life and loneliness.
Nobel Literature Prize Favorites for Dummies, According to the Bookies|Jimmy So|October 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Drutman goes on the dramatize this elite in a number of ways and to slice and dice the data similarly.
The 1 Percent of the 1 Percent|Michael Tomasky|June 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In literature, they dramatize stories and illustrate scenes and situations by a sketch with pencil or brush.
Ontario Normal School Manuals: Science of Education|Ontario Ministry of Education
And as Philip walked home, thinking how brilliant Evelyn had been in their little talk, he began to dramatize the excursion.
That Fortune|Charles Dudley Warner
When we came to dramatize, we can draw a deal of matter from the story, all ready to our hand.
The Letters Of Mark Twain, Volume 3, 1876-1885|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
I've got to dramatize woman's disadvantages if I am to preach on the subject.
The Precipice|Elia Wilkinson Peattie
He believed that to dramatize such a story would lift what he called "our national epic material" to a higher plane.
Henrik Ibsen|Edmund Gosse

British Dictionary definitions for dramatize

dramatize

dramatise

verb

(tr) to put into dramatic form

to express or represent (something) in a dramatic or exaggerated wayhe dramatizes his illness

Derived Formsdramatizable or dramatisable, adjectivedramatizer or dramatiser, 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

Word Origin and History for dramatize

1780s, "to adopt for the stage," see drama (Greek stem dramat-) + -ize. Meaning "to act out" is from 1823. Related: Dramatized; dramatizing.

dramatize

verb (used with object), dram·a·tized, dram·a·tiz·ing.

verb (used without object), dram·a·tized, dram·a·tiz·ing.

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Origin of dramatize

Examples from the Web for dramatize

dramatize

dramatise

verb