as in theatrical
given to or marked by attention-getting behavior suggestive of stage acting
a hammy singer whose overwrought renditions of love songs just beg listeners to cry
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Recent Examples of hammy
The escalating, hysterical hijinks are grounded in convincing dramatic stakes, and only our comic heroes are allowed to be funny, as the monster actors dutifully honor the hammy seriousness of their characters.
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Rory Doherty, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
Injury watch Justin Jefferson’s hammy will make its 2025 debut Monday night, and Vikings fans should not be expecting an all-world opener.
—Kevin Cusick, Twin Cities, 7 Sep. 2025
The tone is maddeningly ambiguous, somewhere between stupid and serious, hammy and apocalyptic—in other words, consummate Crews.
—Charlie Lee, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
Austin’s lush mustache and hammy Southern drawl aren’t quite in sync with the tone; Rudd seems stuck in the Ferrell version of the film.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hammy
Rory Doherty, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
Injury watch Justin Jefferson’s hammy will make its 2025 debut Monday night, and Vikings fans should not be expecting an all-world opener.
—Kevin Cusick, Twin Cities, 7 Sep. 2025
The tone is maddeningly ambiguous, somewhere between stupid and serious, hammy and apocalyptic—in other words, consummate Crews.
—Charlie Lee, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
Austin’s lush mustache and hammy Southern drawl aren’t quite in sync with the tone; Rudd seems stuck in the Ferrell version of the film.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hammy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hammy
Adjective
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Meanwhile, shares of fellow theatrical stocks AMC, Cinemark and Marcus Theatres cratered in 2025.—
Sarah Whitten,
CNBC,
9 Jan. 2026
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The city’s storefront followers all saw the show as intense, non-linear, fanciful, Chicago-style experimentation with the de rigeur amount of nudity and a darkly comic soul, but no hope whatsoever of expanding its reach beyond the Midwest theatrical shoebox of its birth.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Parallel societies in certain urban areas and rising violent crime statistics linked to some migrant cohorts in countries such as Sweden and Germany led to the dramatic rise of populist and patriotic parties across the continent, from France to Italy to the Netherlands.—
Daniel Ross Goodman,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Jan. 2026
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Hudson’s performance kicks into a surprising dramatic gear, the actress’s playful Milwaukee accent settling into a relatively somber key, grappling with dreams dashed.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hammy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hammy. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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