dramatize

verb

dra·​ma·​tize ˈdra-mə-ˌtīz How to pronounce dramatize (audio) ˈdrä- How to pronounce dramatize (audio)
dramatized; dramatizing

transitive verb

1
: to adapt (something, such as a novel) for theatrical presentation
2
: to present or represent in a dramatic manner

intransitive verb

1
: to be suitable for dramatization
2
: to behave dramatically
dramatizable adjective

Examples of dramatize in a Sentence

The movie dramatizes her early life. The book is dramatized in a new play. I know I tend to dramatize things but it really was awful. She cited a series of statistics to dramatize the seriousness of the problem. This tragedy dramatizes the need for improvements in highway safety.
Recent Examples on the Web
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Safdie perceptively locates the protagonist’s troubling inner contradictions—the atavistic fury that drives him to compete and the intense self-control that competition demands—but dramatizes such outer crises as opioid addiction and conflict with his girlfriend (Emily Blunt) only schematically. Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025 Mahama’s installations, which say something about societal deterioration, also dramatize the country’s inability to sustain robust funding in the arts or technology in its postindependence years. Edna Bonhomme, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2025 Directed by Đặng Thái Huyền and co-written with novelist Chu Lai, the picture dramatizes the 81-day defense of the Quảng Trị Citadel in 1972, one of the most decisive battles of the Vietnam War. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 1 Oct. 2025 Each season of Monster is centered on a different real-life killer who made headlines, with Season 1 starring Evan Peters as cannibalistic killer Jeffrey Dahmer, and Season 2 dramatizing the saga of the Menendez brothers, who killed their parents in 1989. Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 30 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for dramatize

Word History

Etymology

dramat-, stem in derivation of drama + -ize

First Known Use

1783, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of dramatize was in 1783

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Cite this Entry

“Dramatize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dramatize. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

dramatize

verb
dram·​a·​tize
ˈdram-ə-ˌtīz,
ˈdräm-
1
: to make into a drama
2
: to present or represent in a dramatic manner
dramatization
ˌdram-ət-ə-ˈzā-shən
ˌdräm-
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on dramatize

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