histrionic
adjective
Did you know?
If you’re already familiar with the history of histrionic, take a bow. But if you’re still waiting (in the wings or elsewhere) to learn, we’ve got you covered. The adjective histrionic traces back to the Latin noun histrio, meaning “actor.” Something described as histrionic tends to recall the high drama of stage and screen, and especially the theatrical form known as melodrama, where characters have very strong or exaggerated emotions. But something that is histrionic isn’t always overdone; histrionic is also used (though less frequently) simply to describe something related to acting or the theater, as in “histrionic talent/skills.” Note that the noun histrionics refers to either theatrical performances, or, more commonly, to a deliberate display of emotion for effect, as in “parents used to the child’s histrionics.”
Examples of histrionic in a Sentence
John C. Moritz, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
Populated by unhinged men and masochistic women, and punctuated by fiery, increasingly histrionic set pieces, Smoke fails to reconcile its mood of noirish nihilism with its efforts at social commentary.
—Judy Berman, Time, 27 June 2025
The most reliably entertaining are the dryly sardonic Yelena Belova (Pugh) and the excitable, histrionic Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (a showily outsized Harbour).
—Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Real Women takes a more tender, less histrionic approach.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for histrionic
Cite this Entry
“Histrionic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/histrionic. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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histrionic
adjective
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