the·at·ri·cal
thē-ˈa-tri-kəl 
variants
or less commonly theatric
1
a
: of or relating to the theater or the presentation of plays
a theatrical costume
a theatrical troupe
a powerful theatrical performance
b
: of, relating to, or occurring in a movie theater
the theatrical release of a new film
"Give Me Liberty," the Milwaukee-made movie that received good notices at this year's Sundance Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival, will come home for its U.S. theatrical premiere, Aug. 22 at the Oriental Theatre.—
Chris Foran
Chris Foran2
: having qualities suggestive of a stage play or of an actor's performance : deliberately or exaggeratedly dramatic or emotional : histrionic
a theatrical gesture
a theatrical way of speaking
… pulls an enormous handkerchief from the inside breast pocket of his jacket and opens it with a theatrical flourish …—Robert Little
Robert Little1
2
British
: a professional actor
3
theatricals plural
: showy or extravagant gestures
Synonyms
Examples of theatrical in a Sentence
Adjective
a politician who has a highly theatrical manner of speaking
after stepping out of their hired limousine, the prom couple made a theatrical entrance in their evening clothes
Recent Examples on the WebPamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Apr. 2024
The film hasn’t undergone the censorship certification required of all theatrical releases, a lengthy process which could see key scenes stripped away—if it’s granted a release at all.
—Siddhant Adlakha, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
The new Fire In The Hole replaces a 50-year-old ride of the same name in the park, adding modern theatrical effects and a smoother ride system to enhance the story.
—Robert Niles, Orange County Register, 5 Apr. 2024
Playwright Patrick Barlow’s based his 2005 theatrical spoof on both the novel and the movie.
—David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2024
Strictly Confidential premieres Friday in limited theatrical release.
—EW.com, 4 Apr. 2024
That the solar eclipse has become a favorite muse for artists isn’t all that surprising considering the theatrical allure of the phenomenon.
—Elissaveta M. Brandon, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
Some jobs for minors are exempt from Fair Labor Standards Act, such as babysitting, working in non-hazardous businesses owned by their parents, and performance work including radio, TV, movies, and theatrical productions.
—Keenan Thomas, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
The character also wasn’t featured on the theatrical poster.
—Kimberly Nordyke, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Mar. 2024
Caroline Brew, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024
Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie has taken the world by storm since its July 21 theatrical release, grossing over $1.38 billion at the global box office.
—Jessica Wang, EW.com, 4 Dec. 2023
Shift from the botanical to the theatrical at ASU Gammage, the city’s premier venue for the performing arts.
—Sunset Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
In a new strategic partnership that Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav helped shepherd, Cruise will team with movie studio chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy in jointly developing and producing original and franchise theatrical films starring the world-famous actor.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Jan. 2024
And Chinese titles have come to dominate the country’s own theatrical and streaming markets to such a point that the long-standing import quotas may have fallen into abeyance.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 3 Jan. 2024
However, Majors was quickly dropped by both his management and publicist teams in the wake of the accusations, and Searchlight Pictures indefinitely postponed Magazine Dreams’ December theatrical release.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 18 Dec. 2023
Killers of the Flower Moon After its October theatrical release, Killers of the Flower Moon is now available to rent on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
—Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 18 Dec. 2023
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers had previously warned the actors union that if a deal could not be reached by the end of this week, the networks would have to cancel certain TV shows and there would be further delays in 2024 summer theatrical releases.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 3 Nov. 2023
Adjective
The Searchlight Pictures and Annapurna film was originally intended to debut on Hulu, but will now get a theatrical release.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Apr. 2024
The film hasn’t undergone the censorship certification required of all theatrical releases, a lengthy process which could see key scenes stripped away—if it’s granted a release at all.
—Siddhant Adlakha, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
The new Fire In The Hole replaces a 50-year-old ride of the same name in the park, adding modern theatrical effects and a smoother ride system to enhance the story.
—Robert Niles, Orange County Register, 5 Apr. 2024
Playwright Patrick Barlow’s based his 2005 theatrical spoof on both the novel and the movie.
—David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2024
Strictly Confidential premieres Friday in limited theatrical release.
—EW.com, 4 Apr. 2024
That the solar eclipse has become a favorite muse for artists isn’t all that surprising considering the theatrical allure of the phenomenon.
—Elissaveta M. Brandon, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
Some jobs for minors are exempt from Fair Labor Standards Act, such as babysitting, working in non-hazardous businesses owned by their parents, and performance work including radio, TV, movies, and theatrical productions.
—Keenan Thomas, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
The character also wasn’t featured on the theatrical poster.
—Kimberly Nordyke, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Mar. 2024
Noun
The 2024 movie musical will stream on Paramount+ beginning March 5, following its January theatrical release.
—Caroline Brew, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024
Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie has taken the world by storm since its July 21 theatrical release, grossing over $1.38 billion at the global box office.
—Jessica Wang, EW.com, 4 Dec. 2023
Shift from the botanical to the theatrical at ASU Gammage, the city’s premier venue for the performing arts.
—Sunset Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
In a new strategic partnership that Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav helped shepherd, Cruise will team with movie studio chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy in jointly developing and producing original and franchise theatrical films starring the world-famous actor.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Jan. 2024
And Chinese titles have come to dominate the country’s own theatrical and streaming markets to such a point that the long-standing import quotas may have fallen into abeyance.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 3 Jan. 2024
However, Majors was quickly dropped by both his management and publicist teams in the wake of the accusations, and Searchlight Pictures indefinitely postponed Magazine Dreams’ December theatrical release.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 18 Dec. 2023
Killers of the Flower Moon After its October theatrical release, Killers of the Flower Moon is now available to rent on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
—Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 18 Dec. 2023
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers had previously warned the actors union that if a deal could not be reached by the end of this week, the networks would have to cancel certain TV shows and there would be further delays in 2024 summer theatrical releases.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 3 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'theatrical.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Articles Related to theatrical
Dictionary Entries Near theatrical
Cite this Entry
“Theatrical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theatrical. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
theatrical
adjective
the·at·ri·cal
thē-ˈa-tri-kəl
1
: of or relating to the theater
a theatrical costume
2
: marked by pretended or excessive emotion
a theatrical speech
theatrically
adverb
-k(ə-)lē
More from Merriam-Webster on theatrical
Nglish: Translation of theatrical for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of theatrical for Arabic Speakers
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