as in theatrical
given to or marked by attention-getting behavior suggestive of stage acting
a hammy singer whose overwrought renditions of love songs just beg listeners to cry
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hammy
Maybe some scenes and interactions were right on the edge of scripted, and maybe Ozzy’s primal form was that of a hammy lover of the spotlight.
—
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 22 July 2025
The tone is maddeningly ambiguous, somewhere between stupid and serious, hammy and apocalyptic—in other words, consummate Crews.
—Charlie Lee, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
Austin’s lush mustache and hammy Southern drawl aren’t quite in sync with the tone; Rudd seems stuck in the Ferrell version of the film.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2025
There’s just enough harrowing sorrow, eye-popping oddity and acting — whether good or hammy, there’s undeniably a lot of it — to make for a transfixing watch.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hammy
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 22 July 2025
The tone is maddeningly ambiguous, somewhere between stupid and serious, hammy and apocalyptic—in other words, consummate Crews.
—Charlie Lee, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
Austin’s lush mustache and hammy Southern drawl aren’t quite in sync with the tone; Rudd seems stuck in the Ferrell version of the film.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2025
There’s just enough harrowing sorrow, eye-popping oddity and acting — whether good or hammy, there’s undeniably a lot of it — to make for a transfixing watch.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hammy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hammy
Adjective
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The Final Finale is the result of a joint effort between Bleecker Street, the distributor of The End Continues and a recent This Is Spinal Tap theatrical re-release, and Vertigo Live, which has produced concert films for acts like Duran Duran and Billy Idol.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 Oct. 2025
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His 2024 mixtape Underworld imagines what that would be like by morphing the sinister choir-drill popularized by guys like Ot7Quanny and Hood Tali P into full-on theatrical horrorcore.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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No team in the Championship has lost more than the nine points Wrexham have dropped from a winning position this term, a damaging trait that began on the opening day at Southampton when two stoppage-time goals turned a 1-0 win into a dramatic loss.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
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Watch the actor and his wife, Camila, perform a dramatic reading of the police report to celebrate the anniversary of his run-in with the law.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hammy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hammy. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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