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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. adj. Of or relating to actors or acting.
  2. adj. Excessively dramatic or emotional; affected.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. Pertaining to actors or acting; befitting the stage; theatrical; hence, feigned for effect; unreal.
  2. n. A dramatic performer; a stage-player.
  3. n. plural The art of theatrical representation; dramatic manner or expression: as, the histrionics of a stump-speaker.

Wiktionary

  1. adj. Of, or relating to actors or acting
  2. adj. Excessively dramatic or emotional

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. adj. Of or relating to the stage or a stageplayer; befitting a theatre; theatrical.
  2. adj. Affectedly dramatic; insincerely emotional; -- sometimes used in a bad sense.

WordNet 3.0

  1. adj. characteristic of acting or a stage performance; often affected

Etymologies

  1. Late Latin histriōnicus, from Latin histriō, histriōn-, actor, probably of Etruscan origin.

Examples

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Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘histrionic’.

Comments

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  • 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

‘histrionic’ has been looked up 2964 times, loved by 15 people, added to 83 lists, commented on 4 times, and has a Scrabble score of 15.