hammy
1 Americanadjective
adjective
-
(of an actor) overacting or tending to overact
-
(of a play, performance, etc) overacted or exaggerated
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hammy1
First recorded in 1860–65; ham 1 + -y 1
Origin of hammy2
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.
But such compromises do not exist in the extreme and often hammy world of Mr. Tallent’s fiction.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026
Exactly 86 minutes after Wood was cleared following concerns over a hamstring injury, Australia's Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of Friday's first Test with a dodgy hammy of his own.
From BBC • Nov. 15, 2025
Second, she was wildly overcoached, delivering a hammy performance that sounded nothing like her normal speaking voice.
From Slate • Mar. 9, 2024
Mark Ruffalo is effectively hammy in ‘Poor Things,’ while breakout Charles Melton more than holds his own opposite Oscar winners Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore in ‘May December.’
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 17, 2023
It is the chore he has come to assume, making us laugh with his hammy asides.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
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.
