dramatic

1 having the general quality or effect of a stage performance <the basketball player's dramatic announcement of his sudden retirement held everybody spellbound> Synonyms histrionic, melodramatic, operatic, stagy (or stagey), theatrical (also theatric) Related Words affected, emotional, emotionalistic, sensational; actorish, actorly, actressy, dramaturgic (or dramaturgical), ham, hammy; amazing, astonishing, astounding, awesome, exciting, eye-opening, fabulous, marvelous (or marvellous), spectacular, surprising, wonderful, wondrous; overdramatic Near Antonyms matter-of-fact, monotonous, uneventful, unexciting; uninspiring, unnewsworthy, unrewarding, unsensational, unspectacular; common, commonplace, ordinary, stale, unexceptional Antonyms undramatic

2 given to or marked by attention-getting behavior suggestive of stage acting <oh, don't be so dramatic, and just tell us, without the pregnant pauses, what happened> Synonyms theatrical, hammy, histrionic, melodramatic, stagy (or stagey)Related Words actorish, actorly, actressy; overacted, overdone, sensational, staged; conspicuous, elaborate, flamboyant, grandiose, ostentatious, showy; affected, artificial, exaggerated, mannered, pretentious, self-conscious, studied, unnaturalNear Antonyms nondramatic, nontheatrical, unaffected, underplayed, unpretentious; muted, restrained, subdued, toned (down); conservative, discreet, inconspicuous; modest, plain, quiet, simpleAntonyms undramatic

3 likely to attract attention <a dramatic drop in the temperature overnight> Synonyms arresting, bodacious, bold, brilliant, catchy, commanding, conspicuous, noticeable, emphatic, eye-catching, flamboyant, grabby, kenspeckle [chiefly Scottish], marked, noisy, prominent, pronounced, remarkable, showy, splashy, strikingRelated Words detectable, discernible (also discernable), observable, perceptible, recognizable, visible; outstanding, salient; distinguished, eminent, impressive, notable, noteworthy; highlighted, spotlighted; flagrant, glaring, howling, screaming; flashy, garish, gaudy, glitzy, jazzy, loud, meretricious, swank (or swanky), tawdry; highfalutin (also hifalutin), ostentatious, pretentious; extravagant, fancy, florid, glittery, spectacular; opulent, ornate, overdone, overwrought; absorbing, engrossing, enthralling, fascinating, interesting, rivetingNear Antonyms subtle; concealed, hidden, shrouded; dim, faint, obscure; insignificant, undistinguished, unimportant; modest, unaffected, unassuming, unpretentious; conservative, plain, quiet, simple, understated; muted, restrained, subdued, subtle, toned-down, unflashyAntonyms inconspicuous, unemphatic, unflamboyant, unnoticeable, unobtrusive, unremarkable, unshowy