theatrical
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the theater or dramatic presentations.
theatrical performances.
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suggestive of the theater or of acting; artificial, pompous, spectacular, or extravagantly histrionic.
a theatrical display of grief.
- Synonyms:
- extravagant, stagy, melodramatic, exaggerated
noun
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theatricals,
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dramatic performances, now especially as given by amateurs.
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artificial or histrionic actions.
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a professional actor.
a family of renowned theatricals.
adjective
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of or relating to the theatre or dramatic performances
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exaggerated and affected in manner or behaviour; histrionic
Other Word Forms
- half-theatrical adjective
- nontheatric adjective
- nontheatrical adjective
- nontheatrically adverb
- overtheatrical adjective
- overtheatrically adverb
- overtheatricalness noun
- quasi-theatrical adjective
- quasi-theatrically adverb
- semitheatric adjective
- semitheatrical adjective
- semitheatrically adverb
- theatricality noun
- theatrically adverb
- theatricalness noun
- untheatric adjective
- untheatrical adjective
- untheatrically adverb
Etymology
Origin of theatrical
1550–60; < Late Latin theātric ( us ) < Greek theātrikós, equivalent to theā́tr ( on ) theater + -ikos -ic + -al 1
Explanation
If something happens on a stage, you can describe it as theatrical. Even reading a grocery list out loud can be theatrical, if you do it in dramatic voice with an audience watching. An actor who works on Broadway rather than in Hollywood is theatrical, and a play can be described as a theatrical production. If it happens in a theater, or is related to theater, it's theatrical. You can also use the adjective theatrical to talk about behavior that seems like it belongs on a stage, like a little boy's melodramatic weeping when he discovers a cheese sandwich in his lunch instead of peanut butter and jelly.
Vocabulary lists containing theatrical
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.
A CFP serves a role more akin, in theatrical terms, to a director.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 27, 2026
“There’s a theatrical dimension to diplomacy with real-world consequences,” said Daniel Russel, a former senior State Department official who helped plan multiple U.S.-China summits.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026
The film, which stars Ryan Gosling as a teacher-turned-astronaut who must save Earth from a dimming sun, has earned nearly $600 million worldwide, in an extended theatrical run.
From Barron's • Apr. 26, 2026
Where the article argues voters prefer dramatic personalities, the polling evidence indicates that a significant portion of the California electorate is responding positively to Becerra’s emphasis on competence and accomplishment over theatrical presentation.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
His favorite old theatrical fantasy, the one in which he thought of himself as “Perry O’Parsons, The One-Man Symphony,” returned in the guise of a recurrent dream.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
