histrionic
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to actors or acting.
-
deliberately affected or self-consciously emotional; overly dramatic, in behavior or speech.
noun
adjective
-
excessively dramatic, insincere, or artificial
histrionic gestures
-
rare dramatic
noun
-
(plural) melodramatic displays of temperament
-
rare (plural, functioning as singular) dramatics
Other Word Forms
- histrionically adverb
- nonhistrionic adjective
- nonhistrionical adjective
- nonhistrionically adverb
- nonhistrionicalness noun
- unhistrionic adjective
Etymology
Origin of histrionic
1640–50; < Late Latin histrōnicus of actors, equivalent to histriōn- (stem of histriō ) actor (said to be < Etruscan ) + -icus -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.
“It asks a lot of people to try to step into a world like this one,” the actor says of the unabashedly histrionic screenplay.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026
It was malleable and oblong, perfectly complemented by a waft of boy-next-door blond locks and a brow that could convey emotion just as well as any histrionic soap dialogue.
From Salon • Feb. 15, 2026
Nobody knows what AI’s got in store for the economy, but less histrionic forecasts recommend themselves.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026
Worrying about rate cuts seems histrionic, and arguably irrelevant, since corporate earnings are strong.
From Barron's • Nov. 19, 2025
McCandless's postcards, notes, and journals ... read like the work of an above average, somewhat histrionic high school kid—or am I missing something?
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
