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:
But the production from the director Keenan Tyler Oliphant can’t fully theatricalize a text so weighed down by narration.
From New York Times ● May 17, 2022
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
And not only to vote but also to theatricalize their public commitment to voting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2018
Unlike in, say, “Stuffed,” in which the comedian Lisa Lampanelli looked at her body issues, there are no attempts to theatricalize the production.
From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2018
I did everything I could to theatricalize him in the extreme.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 29, 2016
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
At the California Science Center, the exhibition design for these gilded wood sculptures and assorted implements of daily life is overly theatricalized.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2018
Cipher Singer-composer Samita Sinha explores a variety of sonic landscapes in this theatricalized work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2015
Though symphonic music and opera were integral parts of the early history of City Center, performances by two classical musicians seemed slightly off center and off balance in this highly theatricalized evening.
From New York Times ● Oct. 26, 2011
“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.
