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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

Words nearby playact

Plautus, play, playa, playability, playable, playact, play-action pass, play agent, play along, play a losing game, play around
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to playact

appear, bear, carry, conduct, give, go on, manage, operate, perform, play, present, produce, quit, amplify, exaggerate, overstate, achieve, execute, imitate, mimic

How to use playact in a sentence

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
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