theatricalize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to put into dramatic or theatrical form; dramatize.
-
to express or represent in a spectacular or extravagantly histrionic manner.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of theatricalize
First recorded in 1770–80; theatrical + -ize
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.
See Examples For:
Instead of trying to theatricalize its story through finding playable action, The Inheritance tries to solve the problem of adapting a literary work through emphasizing its literariness.
From Slate ● Dec. 12, 2019
Though all were powerful, they faced a common difficulty: How to theatricalize in one gesture both individual devastation and collective disaster.
From New York Times ● Dec. 4, 2018
I did everything I could to theatricalize him in the extreme.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 29, 2016
Preserving the integrity of the drama, the way it attempts to theatricalize the autistic way of processing the world, was the priority, and Elliott and her team were richly rewarded for not compromising their plan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2015
“It presents itself as almost the impossible task: to theatricalize a sprawling and unruly wilderness,” said Joe Tantalo, who is directing.
From New York Times ● Oct. 2, 2014
It’s an inspiring story of a gifted athlete’s heroics on and off the court, but the summary nature of so much material sometimes lends the impression of a theatricalized book report.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2023
Even though Gardiner has theatricalized the typically sparse musical with more ambitious design elements and stagecraft, Smith’s storytelling and vocals still carry the show.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 7, 2022
A fearsomely talented guitarist with dreams of pop domination — or so her highly theatricalized live performances in recent years have suggested — St. Vincent is never less than memorable in concert.
From New York Times ● Nov. 30, 2017
The proceedings can seem less like a fresh retelling of a seminal story and more like, despite stabs at grit and terror, a theatricalized, dewy-eyed version of days past.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2015
“Literature that is lifelike in essence, moral without being hypocritical, dramatic without being theatricalized, inspiring without being preachy.”
From In the Heart of a Fool by White, William Allen
That sentence was so clear and so moving, and I started thinking about theatricalizing the idea that one person can literally be your whole world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2025
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.
