dramatize

[ dram-uh-tahyz, drah-muh- ]

verb (used with object)

, dram·a·tized, dram·a·tiz·ing.

1. to put into a form suitable for acting on a stage.
2. to express or represent vividly, emotionally, or strikingly:

   He dramatizes his woes with sobs and sighs.

verb (used without object)

, dram·a·tized, dram·a·tiz·ing.

1. to express oneself in a dramatic or exaggerated way.

dramatize

/ ˈdræməˌtaɪz /

verb

1. tr to put into dramatic form
2. to express or represent (something) in a dramatic or exaggerated way

   he dramatizes his illness

Derived Forms

• ˈdramaˌtizable, adjective
• ˈdramaˌtizer, noun

Other Words From

• drama·tiza·ble adjective
• drama·tizer noun
• over·drama·tize verb overdramatized overdramatizing
• un·drama·tiza·ble adjective
• un·drama·tized adjective
• well-drama·tized adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dramatize¹

1770–80; < Greek drāmat- ( dramatic ) + -ize

Example Sentences

A dramatized mock trial of Hunter Biden — pulled earlier this year after President Biden’s son filed a lawsuit — was also offered.

From Los Angeles Times

“The topic was so heavy, but there was also so much humor and laughter and lightness. I was like, there’s something here, we just have to figure out how to dramatize this.”

From Los Angeles Times

Betty represents tangible reality while Norma embodies seductive illusion in a musical that dramatizes the unfair fight between them for Joe’s jaded soul.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s been a testing ground for the Manhattan Project and a crossroads for drug trafficking networks, as dramatized in the television series “Breaking Bad.”

From Los Angeles Times

The play dramatizes the modern Kafkaesque hell of automated phone systems that make callers wait ungodly amounts of time, to numbing hold music, before speaking to a scripted agent.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• amplify
• exaggerate
• overstate