variants
or less commonly roleplay
role-played also roleplayed; role-playing also roleplaying; role-plays also roleplays
1
: to act out the role of
2
: to represent in action
… students were asked to role-play the thoughts and feelings of each character …—
R. G. Lambert
R. G. Lambert
: to play a role
role-play
noun
or less commonly roleplay
plural role-plays also roleplays
I practice this with student social workers through case studies and role-play.
—Kevin Brazant, quoted in psychologytoday.com
Kevin Brazant, quoted in psychologytoday.com
Examples of role-play in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Peacock has given a straight-to-series order to Dungeon Crawler Carl, a live-action series adaptation of Matt Dinniman’s popular science fantasy LitRPG (role-playing game) books.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 18 June 2026
Jordan Clarkson, New York Clarkson rebirthed his career in New York as a role-playing bench wing who feasts on offensive boards (no, really) and plays more defense than the Utah version.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 17 June 2026
Game Studio is working on an action role-playing game that brings the fictional video game at the heart of the series to life.
—Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 10 June 2026
This hybrid live-action role-playing game and work of interactive theater enables guests to live out mini-Wild West adventures while interacting with more than two dozen actors.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for role-play
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Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 18 June 2026
Jordan Clarkson, New York Clarkson rebirthed his career in New York as a role-playing bench wing who feasts on offensive boards (no, really) and plays more defense than the Utah version.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 17 June 2026
Game Studio is working on an action role-playing game that brings the fictional video game at the heart of the series to life.
—Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 10 June 2026
This hybrid live-action role-playing game and work of interactive theater enables guests to live out mini-Wild West adventures while interacting with more than two dozen actors.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for role-play
Cite this Entry
“Role-play.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/role-play. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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