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histrionic Definition

his·tri·onic (his′trē än′ik)

adjective

  1. of, or having the nature of, acting or actors
  2. overacted or overacting; theatrical; artificial; affected

Etymology: LL histrionicus < L histrio, actor; ult. of Etr orig.

histrionic Related Forms
his′·tri·on′i·cally adverb
histrionic Synonyms

histrionic

modif.

dramatic, melodramatic, artificial, theatrical; see affected 2.

histrionic Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • ability: Their performance would surely have involved much rehearsing as well as histrionic ability.
  • talent: Every year I am amazed at the amount of histrionic talent displayed by the brothers at the annual Theodore Roosevelt reunion.
  • element: And we emphasize the histrionic element of the affair.
  • art: In rhetoric and histrionic art especially no other nation equaled or equals the Italians.
  • gesture: And when performing the task on a second and third occasion, I made the histrionic gesture of wearing a gas-mask.

Modifying Another Word

  • too: For the reticent, ruminative Tolkien, Williams's platform manner is perhaps rather too histrionic.
  • not: Ross MacGibbon's style is not histrionic; he does not raise the temperature among his colleagues in the way that directors sometimes can.