playact

[ pley-akt ]

/ ˈpleɪˌækt /

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See synonyms for: playact / playacting / playactor on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to engage in make-believe.

to be insincere or affected in speech, manner, etc.: It's hard to get away with playacting with members of one's own family.

to perform in a play.

verb (used with object)

to dramatize (something): They playacted the movements of a burglar.

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Origin of playact

1895–1900; back formation from playacting;see play, act, -ing¹

OTHER WORDS FROM playact

playacting, nounplayactor, noun

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

How to use playact in a sentence

Have there been discussions with FX regarding an Archer movie, and how do you think that would play out?
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A spokesman for Lewisham council said last year that it would be forced to act if the family returned to Britain.
Britain May Spy on Preschoolers Searching for Potential Jihadis|Nico Hines|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Father Joel Román Salazar died in a car crash in 2013; his death was ruled an accident, but the suspicion of foul play persists.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He plays an aging punk rocker and I play the drummer from his old band.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Every once in a while, they act swiftly and acknowledge the problem.
Today’s GOP: Still Cool With Racist Pandering?|Michael Tomasky|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I assure you, no matter how beautifully we play any piece, the minute Liszt plays it, you would scarcely recognize it!
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
But I hope at least to play to him a few times, and what is more important, to hear him play repeatedly.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
He caught himself in the act of listening to you too credulously—and that seemed to him unmanly and dishonorable.
Confidence|Henry James
To fill up the time till Liszt came, our hostess made us play, one after the other, beginning with the latest arrival.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
Again the sallow fingers began to play with the book-covers, passing from one to another, but always slowly and gently.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens

British Dictionary definitions for playact

play-act

verb

(intr) to pretend or make believe

(intr) to behave in an overdramatic or affected manner

to act in or as in (a play)

Derived forms of play-act

play-acting, nounplay-actor, noun

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