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pantomime definition

pan·to·mime (pan′tə mīm′)

noun

  1. in ancient Rome
    1. an actor who played his part by gestures and action without words
    2. a drama played in action and gestures to the accompaniment of music or of words sung by a chorus
    1. any dramatic presentation played without words, using only action and gestures
    2. the art of acting in this way
  3. action or gestures without words as a means of expression
  4. in England, a type of entertainment presented at Christmastime, ending in a harlequinade

Etymology: L pantomimus < Gr pantomimos < pantos (see panto-) + mimos, a mimic, actor

adjective

of or like pantomime

transitive verb, intransitive verb pantomimed -·mimed′, pantomiming -·mim′·ing

to express or act in pantomime

Related Forms:

  • pantomimic pan′·to·mim′ic (-mim′ik) adjective
  • pantomimist pan′·to·mim′·ist (-mīm′ist) noun

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

pantomime Synonyms

pantomime

n.

sign, sign language, dumb show, mimicry, play without words, acting without speech, charade, mime; see also parody.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

pantomime Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • perform: As the characters unite to try to perform a pantomime, the action becomes manic.

Adjective modifier

  • traditional: It's a family show with all the magic of a traditional pantomime.

Modifies a noun

  • dame: Music hall actor well known for his pantomime dame roles.

Noun used with modifier

  • village: The village pantomime is also a great addition to the celebrations; there is some amazing talent out there.
pantomime usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

pantomime quotes

The delightsöthe ten thousand million delights of a pantomime.

-Dickens, CharlesJohn Huffam

You can see in pantomime the puppets fumbling with their slips of paper†seethem pickup their phone†see the noiseless, ceaseless capital of memoranda, in touch with Calcutta, in touch with Reykjavik, and always fooling with something.

-White, E(lwyn) B(rooks)

pantomime quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"pantomime." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/pantomime>

APA Style

pantomime. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/pantomime

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