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histrionic

[ his-tree-on-ik ]
/ ˌhɪs triˈɒn ɪk /
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See synonyms for: histrionic / histrionics on Thesaurus.com
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.
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Origin of histrionic

1640–50; <Late Latin histrōnicus of actors, equivalent to histriōn- (stem of histriō) actor (said to be <Etruscan ) + -icus-ic

OTHER WORDS FROM histrionic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to histrionic

flamboyant, frenzied, histrionical, maudlin, mawkish, overemotional, overwrought, sensational, sentimental, stagy, bombastic, exaggerated, grandiloquent, melodramatic, overacted, overplayed, dramatic, farcical, hammy, theatric

How to use histrionic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for histrionic

histrionic

histrionical

/ (ˌhɪstrɪˈɒnɪk) /
adjective
excessively dramatic, insincere, or artificialhistrionic gestures
rare dramatic
noun
(plural) melodramatic displays of temperament
rare (plural, functioning as singular) dramatics

Derived forms of histrionic

histrionically, adverb

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
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