histrionic
of or relating to actors or acting.
deliberately affected or self-consciously emotional; overly dramatic, in behavior or speech.
an actor.
Origin of histrionic
1Other words from histrionic
- his·tri·on·i·cal·ly, adverb
- non·his·tri·on·ic, adjective
- non·his·tri·on·i·cal, adjective
- non·his·tri·on·i·cal·ly, adverb
- non·his·tri·on·i·cal·ness, noun
- un·his·tri·on·ic, adjective
Words Nearby histrionic
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use histrionic in a sentence
Pelosi, in turn, said the committee’s work was too important to be derailed by showmanship and histrionics.
There’s an expectation that the actor who’s allowed to be histrionic and demanding, or the writer who’s allowed to be oversharing and impassioned, will ultimately create better art.
If there’s a point to this exercise, it gets lost amid so many histrionic reenactments of scenes we’ve seen replayed on the news and parodied in late-night comedy for more than two decades.
While King’s narrative romanticizes the relationship between mental illness and creativity, Larraín’s histrionic direction often reduces these elements to camp.
Stephen King Adaptation Lisey's Story Is Mawkish, Dull and Too Long by Half | Judy Berman | June 4, 2021 | TimeWe get an amusingly histrionic psychological thriller from Plaza and a clever Ronald Reagan pastiche from Duplass and actor-producer Ethan Sandler.
The moral duties and doubts of adulthood are swapped out for the histrionic creeds of adolescence.
Two New Films Preach Our Nation’s Corrosive Gridiron Gospel | Steve Almond | September 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSilver Linings Playbook allowed her to explode, playing a woman unhinged, histrionic, and emotionally volatile.
How Jennifer Lawrence Took Over Hollywood. (It’s Not Just Because of Her Charm.) | Kevin Fallon | December 20, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTWall Street Journal editorial-page writer Dorothy Rabinowitz recorded a histrionic anti-bike video that went viral.
Such miscues mired the show in histrionic soapiness, upsetting the delicate balance between domestic drama and social change.
In fact, The Newsroom seems to relish putting loud women in their place or to render them helpless and histrionic.
HBO’s ‘The Newsroom’: Aaron Sorkin’s Woman Problem | Jace Lacob, Maureen Ryan | July 2, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThis rare merit even the most fastidious critic must allow: but her histrionic essay is, in another respect, equally remarkable.
The Hubble-Shue | Christian CarstairsShe has inherited the histrionic gift from her mother—from me.
Quin | Alice Hegan Ricehistrionic art always and everywhere suffers from the ephemeral conditions under which it has to be externalised.
The Memoirs of Count Carlo Gozzi; Volume the first | Count Carlo GozziIn the midst of her histrionic triumphs, Mlle. Clairon continued her career of gallantry.
Queens of the French Stage | H. Noel WilliamsHere she trained a number of aspirants to histrionic fame, several of whom were destined to make their mark in years to come.
Queens of the French Stage | H. Noel Williams
British Dictionary definitions for histrionic
histrionical
/ (ˌhɪstrɪˈɒnɪk) /
excessively dramatic, insincere, or artificial: histrionic gestures
rare dramatic
(plural) melodramatic displays of temperament
rare (plural, functioning as singular) dramatics
Origin of histrionic
1Derived forms of histrionic
- histrionically, adverb
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
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