variants
or stagey
1
as in theatrical
given to or marked by attention-getting behavior suggestive of stage acting
a motivational speaker whose stagy presentations motivate some listeners to head for the nearest exit
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dramatic
having the general quality or effect of a stage performance
the president's and the prime minister's public display of mutual admiration was a little too stagy to be convincing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stagy
And even though there are stretches of stagey-sounding expository dialogue, the story manages to wheel along at a clip.
—
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
The Fence suffers from dialogue overload and a somewhat stagy mise-en-scène, although those elements occasionally yield strong sequences fraught with unsettledness, if not outright hostility, when the drama finally boils over.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025
Some reservations: Song plays out the scenes between Lucy and Harry, and between Lucy and John, as two-way dialogues that are often stagy and too on-the-nose.
—Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2025
His Cabinet gathered in the Rose Garden alongside supporters wearing hard hats and reflective vests—a stagy reference to all the manufacturing jobs that would presumably be flooding back to U.S. soil.
—Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
Ferrell just isn’t right for this part: The role is too stagy, too wordy for him, and his style of comedy is just too modern and deconstructionist to handle the Borscht Belt punning of Mel Brooks.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
Here was elegance without exaggeration, tension and beauty without stagy excess.
—James Shapiro, The New York Review of Books, 3 Jan. 2025
This framing device, which has the clunky air of a middlebrow play, provides a convenient if stagy way of breaking down his biography into manageable parts.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024
Advertisement Gwen Grastorf’s embodiment of the scheming goody-goody Arsinoë is a tad stagy, but the character is still a fine foil for the quick-witted Célimène.
—Celia Wren, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
The Fence suffers from dialogue overload and a somewhat stagy mise-en-scène, although those elements occasionally yield strong sequences fraught with unsettledness, if not outright hostility, when the drama finally boils over.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025
Some reservations: Song plays out the scenes between Lucy and Harry, and between Lucy and John, as two-way dialogues that are often stagy and too on-the-nose.
—Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2025
His Cabinet gathered in the Rose Garden alongside supporters wearing hard hats and reflective vests—a stagy reference to all the manufacturing jobs that would presumably be flooding back to U.S. soil.
—Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
Ferrell just isn’t right for this part: The role is too stagy, too wordy for him, and his style of comedy is just too modern and deconstructionist to handle the Borscht Belt punning of Mel Brooks.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
Here was elegance without exaggeration, tension and beauty without stagy excess.
—James Shapiro, The New York Review of Books, 3 Jan. 2025
This framing device, which has the clunky air of a middlebrow play, provides a convenient if stagy way of breaking down his biography into manageable parts.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024
Advertisement Gwen Grastorf’s embodiment of the scheming goody-goody Arsinoë is a tad stagy, but the character is still a fine foil for the quick-witted Célimène.
—Celia Wren, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stagy
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
The performance opened with a black and white sequence, before partner Emma Slater joined him for a dramatic choreography.—
Brianne Tracy,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The comedy, often quite broad, is occasionally jarringly incongruous, and the dramatic stakes of the season-long arc sometimes vanish entirely.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Steeped in modern Japanese history without explicating it, director Sang-il Lee’s feature is propelled by operatic intensity and visual poetry.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The track is filled with operatic vocals, a thundering choir, and a rich, swelling orchestra backing her — plus, there are cameos from Björk and Yves Tumor as well.—
Julyssa Lopez,
Rolling Stone,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
There were stabs at horny lounge jazz, a melodramatic Latin guitar ballad, even a folksy blues number.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
18 Oct. 2025
-
Another melodramatic series, Dynasty of Love, got an almost equally over-the-top launch on Wednesday night with a huge party at the Palm Beach club back on the Croisette.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
17 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stagy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stagy. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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