playact
verb (used without object)
to engage in make-believe.
playacting
-
a word derived from
playact.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Between 2018 and 2021, McIndoe, now 25, went from state to state, playacting the role of radicalized cult leader pushing an absurd conspiracy theory—that, as he put it, “birds aren’t real.”
From Slate ● Apr. 7, 2024
And after she introduced “Teenage Dream” with her tale of turning 21, giant video screens flickered to life with clips of a kindergarten-age Rodrigo playacting the showbiz finesse to come.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2024
Online critics have slammed the job switchers as naïve, suggesting that they are playacting at poverty or taking blue-collar jobs from less educated people who need them.
From New York Times ● Apr. 11, 2023
And Collette’s playacting of such a role becomes a source of tension throughout the book.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 13, 2023
“Maybe you're a better thief than all the grown-up thieves in this city, but when Barbarossa sees you in your high heels With all your grown-up playacting, he’ll just laugh at you.”
From "The Thief Lord" by Cornelia Funke
