theatrics
Americannoun
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(used with a singular verb) the art of staging plays and other stage performances.
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(used with a plural verb) exaggerated, artificial, or histrionic mannerisms, actions, or words.
noun
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the art of staging plays
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exaggerated mannerisms or displays of emotions
Etymology
Origin of theatrics
1800–10; theatr(ic) ( def. ) + -ics
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.
Like Joshua, Itauma often appears uninterested in the theatrics of fight week.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
The U.S. representative says, “I am asking you to trust us, Pierre. Because our nations go back, and because for all our theatrics we are a good people.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
At the time, the Iaquinta fight was eclipsed by the exact kind of theatrics that the UFC values and that increasingly overshadow the sport itself.
From Slate ● Jun. 14, 2026
My husband and I burst out laughing – not at that scene, or the clerk’s impromptu theatrics, but at this injection of delight into an otherwise mundane errand.
From Salon ● May 2, 2026
I tried to ignore her theatrics and focus on my role as the book peddler.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.
