melodramatic

[mel-uh-druh-mat-ik]

adjective

1. of, like, or befitting melodrama.

2. exaggerated and emotional or sentimental; sensational or sensationalized; overdramatic.

noun

1. melodramatics, melodramatic writing or behavior.

Other Word Forms

• melodramatically adverb
• nonmelodramatic adjective
• nonmelodramatically adverb
• unmelodramatic adjective
• unmelodramatically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of melodramatic¹

First recorded in 1810–20; melodrama + (drama)tic

Example Sentences

He’s double-cast Luna and Tonatiuh as the film-within-a-film’s leads and changed the imaginary tale from a Nazi propaganda flick to a melodramatic but moving South American romance between a glamour queen and a noble photographer.

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The material could easily have tilted into melodramatic TV territory, but Redford handled it with a steady, unshowy touch, letting pain seep through pauses, glances and the things left unsaid.

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But in screenwriter Noah Pink’s melodramatic imagining of incidents both well-documented and mysterious, one can see this Hollywood veteran on a mission to loosen the shackles of his reputation and have some nasty, brutish fun.

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Even the sleepiest off-season Sunday can suddenly erupt into the latest melodramatic controversy, with rumours, counter-rumours and abrupt U-turns a matter of course.

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The cinematography tries too hard to capture melodramatic modern police procedurals with their choking clouds of haze.

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Related Words

• theatrical