dramatize

verb

dra·​ma·​tize ˈdra-mə-ˌtīz How to pronounce dramatize (audio) ˈdrä- How to pronounce dramatize (audio)
dramatized; dramatizing

transitive verb

1
: to adapt (something, such as a novel) for theatrical presentation
2
: to present or represent in a dramatic manner

intransitive verb

1
: to be suitable for dramatization
2
: to behave dramatically
dramatizable adjective

Examples of dramatize in a Sentence

The movie dramatizes her early life. The book is dramatized in a new play. I know I tend to dramatize things but it really was awful. She cited a series of statistics to dramatize the seriousness of the problem. This tragedy dramatizes the need for improvements in highway safety.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Nothing dramatizes the human comedy with more precision than the sound of a happily narrow mind retorting to the wider environment. Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 30 June 2025 Austin Kelley’s debut novel The Fact Checker dramatizes these questions of fact, truth, and provability as the protagonist checks an article about the Union Square Greenmarket. Isabel Clara Ruehl june 16, Literary Hub, 16 June 2025 Iraq War veteran Ray Mendoza has teamed with Civil War and Ex Machina director Alex Garland to make Warfare, which dramatizes the day in 2006 a team of Navy SEALs, Mendoza among them, entered an apartment building in Ramadi province, Iraq, on a treacherous surveillance mission. Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 4 June 2025 Fares Fares is a forceful actor who dramatizes George’s movie-star vanity from the inside out. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 20 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for dramatize

Word History

Etymology

dramat-, stem in derivation of drama + -ize

First Known Use

1783, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of dramatize was in 1783

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Cite this Entry

“Dramatize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dramatize. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

dramatize

verb
dram·​a·​tize
ˈdram-ə-ˌtīz,
ˈdräm-
1
: to make into a drama
2
: to present or represent in a dramatic manner
dramatization
ˌdram-ət-ə-ˈzā-shən
ˌdräm-
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on dramatize

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