theatrical
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to the theater or dramatic presentations.
theatrical performances.
-
suggestive of the theater or of acting; artificial, pompous, spectacular, or extravagantly histrionic.
a theatrical display of grief.
- Synonyms:
- extravagant, stagy, melodramatic, exaggerated
noun
-
theatricals,
-
dramatic performances, now especially as given by amateurs.
-
artificial or histrionic actions.
-
-
a professional actor.
a family of renowned theatricals.
adjective
-
of or relating to the theatre or dramatic performances
-
exaggerated and affected in manner or behaviour; histrionic
Other Word Forms
- half-theatrical adjective
- nontheatric adjective
- nontheatrical adjective
- nontheatrically adverb
- overtheatrical adjective
- overtheatrically adverb
- overtheatricalness noun
- quasi-theatrical adjective
- quasi-theatrically adverb
- semitheatric adjective
- semitheatrical adjective
- semitheatrically adverb
- theatricality noun
- theatrically adverb
- theatricalness noun
- untheatric adjective
- untheatrical adjective
- untheatrically adverb
Etymology
Origin of theatrical
1550–60; < Late Latin theātric ( us ) < Greek theātrikós, equivalent to theā́tr ( on ) theater + -ikos -ic + -al 1
Explanation
If something happens on a stage, you can describe it as theatrical. Even reading a grocery list out loud can be theatrical, if you do it in dramatic voice with an audience watching. An actor who works on Broadway rather than in Hollywood is theatrical, and a play can be described as a theatrical production. If it happens in a theater, or is related to theater, it's theatrical. You can also use the adjective theatrical to talk about behavior that seems like it belongs on a stage, like a little boy's melodramatic weeping when he discovers a cheese sandwich in his lunch instead of peanut butter and jelly.
Vocabulary lists containing theatrical
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Therein lies the multitude of problems with using generative AI for mainstream theatrical filmmaking, and Soderbergh’s myopic reasoning for implementing it.
From Salon • Apr. 17, 2026
Netflix and AMC previously had a complicated relationship over the streaming service’s long-standing resistance to traditional theatrical releases.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
There is always something theatrical about politics, especially in countries like Hungary, where memories of a glorious but irrecoverable past dominate the public imagination.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
Melies, a theatrical showman and magician, attended that screening and was inspired to make films of his own.
From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026
If so, she would surely go down in the history books as a hero to all in the theatrical firmament.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
