1
: the tacit agreement between professional wrestlers and their fans to pretend that overtly staged wrestling events, stories, characters, etc., are genuine
There have been some wild storylines and matches throughout the history of wrestling and wrestlers will do almost anything not to break kayfabe.—complex.com
… for at least 50 years "kayfabe" has referred to the unspoken contract between wrestlers and spectators: We'll present you something clearly fake under the insistence that it's real, and you will experience genuine emotion. Neither party acknowledges the bargain, or else the magic is ruined.—Nick Rogers
Inside the wrestling world, breaking the dramatic fourth wall was forbidden. The wrestlers had a code for staying in character. They called it "kayfabe." All the contrived rivalries and storylines fell within kayfabe.—David Giddens
broadly
: tacit agreement to behave as if something is real, sincere, or genuine when it is not
There is more than a little kayfabe at play in this indignant back and forth about scheduling. A $600 billion, bipartisan package is not going to live or die because people couldn't resolve their differences about whether to hold a procedural vote on a Wednesday or the following Monday … —Jim Newel
2
: the playacting involved in maintaining kayfabe
With pro wrestling, separating reality from kayfabe can always be difficult.—Joseph Zucker
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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