dramatize
Americanverb (used with object)
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dramatizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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dramatized,
past participle, past
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dramatizing
present participle
-
to put into a form suitable for acting on a stage.
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to express or represent vividly, emotionally, or strikingly.
He dramatizes his woes with sobs and sighs.
verb (used without object)
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dramatizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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dramatized,
past participle, past
-
dramatizing
present participle
verb
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(tr) to put into dramatic form
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to express or represent (something) in a dramatic or exaggerated way
he dramatizes his illness
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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dramatizernoun
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overdramatizeverb
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dramatizableadjective
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undramatizableadjective
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undramatizedadjective
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well-dramatizedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dramatizesimple
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dramatizessimple
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have dramatizedperfect
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has dramatizedperfect
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am dramatizingprogressive
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are dramatizingprogressive
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is dramatizingprogressive
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have been dramatizingperfect progressive
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has been dramatizingperfect progressive
Past
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dramatizedsimple
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had dramatizedperfect
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was dramatizingprogressive
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were dramatizingprogressive
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had been dramatizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dramatize
Explanation
To dramatize something is to put it in dramatic form (like a TV show or movie) or make it seem more dramatic, using exaggeration. Anytime you see a movie or TV show about real events, the actors are dramatizing what really happened. If you slipped on the sidewalk and hurt your knee a little but later made it sound like the most tragic event in the history of humanity, you're guilty of dramatizing what happened. To dramatize in that way is to exaggerate and embellish — it's something that we all do occasionally.
Vocabulary lists containing dramatize
March: Book Two
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ize
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-ize, List 2
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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.
See Examples For:
Robert Harris employs this fictional memoir to dramatize the long relationship between Agrippa and Augustus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
She bristles when she realizes some dentists are using AI images to upsell patients—deploying color-coded overlays to dramatize borderline findings and justify questionable treatments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
The answer to that question is what “The Pitt” attempts to dramatize in “5:00 p.m.,”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2026
Sophocles’ “Antigone” and Euripides’ “Suppliant Women” dramatize tensions between personal morality, state power and democratic rights.
From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2025
There is a moment just before the Communion when members of the congregation shake hands to dramatize a union.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
Ms. Daanje dramatizes their struggle to make their experiences of reality synchronize.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
An all-female cast dramatizes this inspiring American story.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025
That shaving scene referenced earlier dramatizes why this and other supposedly neutral policies painfully disfavor some people without diving into a medical manual.
From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2025
She was dropped by her publisher and resigned from several boards she served on after “When They See Us,” which dramatizes the events surrounding the trial, debuted.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2024
It dramatizes sound with unique artistic rhythm and design.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
The case of Los Primos has dramatized the proliferation of graft in the armed forces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
Here’s what is true and what is dramatized in “Pressure.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
Melies ended up as a toy seller in Paris’ Gare Montparnasse train station -- a story that was dramatized in Martin Scorsese’s 2011 film, "Hugo."
From Barron's ● Apr. 13, 2026
But in 2026, everything can be dramatized until we’re numb to the truth of what we’re seeing.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2026
A reciprocal relationship between people and clergy is dramatized as the congregation takes an active role in the recitation of the mass.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
Major YouTube and TikTok creators—most without any legal background whatsoever—pumped out hundreds of videos dramatizing each step of the trial.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026
Cristina Rivera Garza’s “Autobiography of Cotton” begins by dramatizing a 1934 agricultural strike in northern Mexico.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
Why was it important to you to tell this story as a documentary versus dramatizing it?
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2024
But these are ultimately quibbles: “Shayda” achieves the remarkable feat of dramatizing authentic jeopardy while never coming across like a woman-in-peril film.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2024
"I'm not dramatizing anything, it's my personal property that happens to be lying on my desk."
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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.
