histrionic
[his-tree-on-ik]
|
adjective Also his·tri·on·i·cal.
of or relating to actors or acting.
deliberately affected or self-consciously emotional; overly dramatic, in behavior or speech.
noun
an actor.
Nearby words
- histotomy,
- histotoxic,
- histotoxic anoxia,
- histotrophic,
- histotropic,
- histrionic personality disorder,
- histrionics,
- hit,
- hit a snag,
- hit batsman
Origin of histrionic
1640–50; < Late Latin histrōnicus of actors, equivalent to histriōn- (stem of histriō) actor (said to be < Etruscan) + -icus -ic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for histrionically
True, she could act; she had been told by many a great impressario that histrionically she had no peer in grand opera.
The Place of Honeymoons|Harold MacGrathThat it be seriously done with a real intention of doing the thing, and not histrionically, ludicrously, or in jest.
A Christian Directory|Baxter RichardBut histrionically it must be confessed that things dragged a little.
As a result he was but histrionically master of himself when the Countess Livia or the nimbus of the lady appeared in the room.
The Amazing Marriage, Complete|George Meredith
histrionic
histrionical
adjective
noun
Word Origin for histrionic
C17: from Late Latin histriōnicus of a player, from histriō actor
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
histrionic
"theatrical" (figuratively, "hypocritical"), 1640s, from Latin histrionicus "pertaining to an actor," from histrio (genitive histrionis) "actor," said to be of Etruscan origin. The literal sense in English is from 1759.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper