variants
or less commonly roleplay
role-played also roleplayed; role-playing also roleplaying; role-plays also roleplays
1
: to act out the role of
2
: to represent in action
students were asked to role-play the thoughts and feelings of each character—
R. G. Lambert
R. G. Lambert
: to play a role
role-play
noun
or less commonly roleplay
plural role-plays also roleplays
I practice this with student social workers through case studies and role-play.
—Kevin Brazant, quoted in psychologytoday.com
Kevin Brazant, quoted in psychologytoday.com
Examples of role-play in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The technical flaws run counter to the cool aura of more recent fantasy role-playing games, like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015) and Oblivion’s successor, Skyrim (2011), which produced notable memes of its own.
—Jamal Michel, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
The continued success of GTA V long after its release is largely thanks to players who took Rockstar’s multiplayer blueprint and built something unique: a rich role-playing world with servers hosted all across the globe.
—Alyssa Mercante, Rolling Stone, 28 Apr. 2025
Gamers play games for all sorts of reasons: to role-play, to challenge themselves, to kill time with friends.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 25 Apr. 2025
The Elder Scrolls is a series of role-playing games developed by Bethesda with five major installments: Arena (1994), Daggerfall (1996), Morrowind (2002), Oblivion (2006) and Skyrim (2011).
—Carlie Procell, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for role-play
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Jamal Michel, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
The continued success of GTA V long after its release is largely thanks to players who took Rockstar’s multiplayer blueprint and built something unique: a rich role-playing world with servers hosted all across the globe.
—Alyssa Mercante, Rolling Stone, 28 Apr. 2025
Gamers play games for all sorts of reasons: to role-play, to challenge themselves, to kill time with friends.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 25 Apr. 2025
The Elder Scrolls is a series of role-playing games developed by Bethesda with five major installments: Arena (1994), Daggerfall (1996), Morrowind (2002), Oblivion (2006) and Skyrim (2011).
—Carlie Procell, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for role-play
Cite this Entry
“Role-play.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/role-play. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
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