Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Of or relating to actors or acting.
- adj. Excessively dramatic or emotional; affected.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Pertaining to actors or acting; befitting the stage; theatrical; hence, feigned for effect; unreal.
- n. A dramatic performer; a stage-player.
- n. plural The art of theatrical representation; dramatic manner or expression: as, the histrionics of a stump-speaker.
Wiktionary
- adj. Of, or relating to actors or acting
- adj. Excessively dramatic or emotional, especially with the intention to draw attention.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Of or relating to the stage or a stageplayer; befitting a theatre; theatrical.
- adj. Affectedly dramatic; insincerely emotional; -- sometimes used in a bad sense.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. characteristic of acting or a stage performance; often affected
Etymologies
- From Late Latin histriōnicus ("pertaining to acting"), from Latin histriō ("actor"). (Wiktionary)
- Late Latin histriōnicus, from Latin histriō, histriōn-, actor, probably of Etruscan origin. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“A writer who refers to a legislator that has been appointed to an Obama committee as a flaming liberal calling me histrionic is hilarious.”
Democratic State Sen. Darlene Fairley Will Not Seek Reelection « PubliCola
“Police indulged in 'histrionic gestures' during investigation of loans-for-peerages allegations, says former aide to Tony Blair”
The Guardian: Jonathan Powell accuses John Yates of 'cavalier' approach over Met inquiry
“The word histrionic is derived through the Latin from an Etruscan word which means "to leap" and was originally applied to dancers.”
Our Stage and Its Critics By "E.F.S." of "The Westminster Gazette"
“Irrfan we know as a histrionic powerhouse, but here he's playing an action hero.”
“Here, I did think Mr. Comey's testimony was "histrionic" -- that is, "of a theatrical quality.”
“Currently, personality disorders include everything from the debilitating, often deadly illness known as histrionic personality disorder, a symptom of which is that the sufferer”
“Eminem's sixth album, Recovery, comes pre-installed with the kind of histrionic fannying-about now featured as standard on high-profile US urban releases.”
“Will patients be ready to assimilate plenty of other doctor verbiage, such as "histrionic," "chronic complainer" or "drug-seeking behavior"?”
The Wall Street Journal: Shared Information Can Give Better Medical Results
“It was the kind of histrionic gesture which appealed to dear Maggie.”
“She directs me to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders which lists eight criteria for a "histrionic" personality, and they do seem strikingly relevant to Britney.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘histrionic’.
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Iaan
dirigisme, dystopia, cacotopia, ex ante, veritable, indefatigable, curmudgeon, desultory, antediluvian, transmogrify, pendent, elongate and 272 more...
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GRE Barron's 800
abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abject, abjure, abscission, abscond, abstemious, abstinence, abysmal, accretion and 787 more...
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phrontistery - h
from phrontistery.info
habanera, habergeon, habilable, habilatory, habile, habiliment, habilitate, habromania, hachure, hackle, hackney, hadal and 568 more...
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my fab list
blowsabella, aperçu, froideur, salubrious, abject, gallipot, mumchance, wainscot, virago, macerate, lascivious, clandestine and 181 more...
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(1st_wk_150)-Dec_5_2012
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron, paradox, realm and 297 more...
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DAY1_01/04/2013
Alacrity, Prosaic, Veracity, Paucity, Maintain, Contrite, Laconic, Pugnacious, Disparate, Egregious, Innocuous, Candid and 48 more...
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July
vapulate, cattywampus, oneiric, petrichor, dithyramb, lea, dreadnaught, haruspex, caryatid, stentorian, cynosure, lunula and 22 more...
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words-for-apocalipstick
all your words are belong to me.
sybaritic, cacography, scatterbrain, extravaganza, fenestra, kaleidophone, machination, mudpuppy, saturnalia, Bacchanalia, ersatz, fictile and 58 more...
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Always heard but never QUITE knew
crass, sublimate, mien, cagey, expectoration, inexorable, vacillation, singular, interpolation, iconoclastic, belie, solipsist and 28 more...
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DAY4_01/07/2013
miserly, frugal, prevaricate, variance, histrionic, demur, demure, beatific, perfunctory, preemptive, peremptory, indigent and 16 more...
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words to remember
loquacious, decorous, bombastic, impetuous, pedantic, cantankerous, abscond, sagacity, chiaroscuro, histrionic, mincing, maverick
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my GRE words
pedant, wizened, histrionic, logorrhea, frenetic, approbation, quibble, knell, acclivity, droog, prevarication, aplomb and 182 more...
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1stDay
lucid, tenacious, adhesive, cling, reconcile, scenic, picturesque, inundate, gastrointestinal, diarrhea, heredity, alimentary canal and 89 more...
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collection
sanguine, vie, antebellum, glacial, treacly, iconoclast, lissom, anathema, serendipity, parsimonious, histrionic, contemptuous and 279 more...
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practice 2
100 words
momentous, domicile, adroit, ingenious, dexterous, genius, brevity, decorum, propriety, dignity, err, blunder and 91 more...
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newGRE
mostly from magoosh
imbue, verge on, nonchalant, deliberate, timorous, futile, provisional, dissect, checked, tinged, alluring, visionary and 1046 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for histrionic.
munjal.upadhyay unreal
dramebaj Mar 25, 2013
Casey "'Back, ladies and gents, back, I beg of you!" The showman's voice was pompous and histrionic." From Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. Sep 26, 2011
palooka Sorry jennaren. I have the flu today & my comments are weirder than normal. Feb 11, 2008
palooka jennaren? The name sounds slightly familiar. Are you new? Welcome to wordie jennaren! No need for HISTRIONICS! We'll get to know you - all in good time my pretty. Feb 11, 2008
jennarenn See histrionically, where I WAS NOT MENTIONED EVEN ONCE!!!!! Feb 11, 2008