melodramatic

[ mel-uh-druh-mat-ik ]

adjective

1. of, like, or befitting melodrama.
2. exaggerated and emotional or sentimental; sensational or sensationalized; overdramatic.

noun

1. melodramatics, melodramatic writing or behavior.

Other Words From

• melo·dra·mati·cal·ly adverb
• nonmel·o·dra·matic adjective
• nonmel·o·dra·mati·cal·ly adverb
• unmel·o·dra·matic adjective
• unmel·o·dra·mati·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of melodramatic¹

First recorded in 1810–20; melodrama + (drama)tic

Example Sentences

But if you listen to the score, right from the opening moments composer Umberto Smerilli makes a bold declaration about what kind of movie it is: nervy, tempestuous, winking and just a little bit melodramatic.

From Los Angeles Times

You’re playing the goofy vampire, but you also get to do these really emotional, almost melodramatic scenes.

From Los Angeles Times

McCarthy was a political celebrity in the early 1950s for his melodramatic, viciously personal and often baseless attacks against thousands of Americans.

From Salon

Other doctors, commenters have noted, have occasionally laughed at them or made them feel they were being melodramatic.

From Salon

Fortunately, the glass theft was just one of hundreds of melodramatic plotlines in the series about a Protestant minister, his wife and their five — and later, seven — children.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• theatrical