1
as in comedy
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2
as in sentimentality
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of melodrama
Devoid of music or melodrama, this is slow cinema at its most viscerally rigorous and patient.
—
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026
Connecticut, thankfully, is not built for melodrama.
—Robert T.f. Downes, Hartford Courant, 6 Jan. 2026
Globe Photos / Alamy The provocative French melodrama about a voluptuous teenager who scandalizes Saint-Tropez was a box office smash both abroad and in the United States, despite mixed critical reviews and condemnation by watchdog groups like the National Legion of Decency.
—Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 28 Dec. 2025
The mortal wound is not physical, the book, so far from being a melodrama, is very brilliantly understated.
—Literary Hub, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for melodrama
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026
Connecticut, thankfully, is not built for melodrama.
—Robert T.f. Downes, Hartford Courant, 6 Jan. 2026
Globe Photos / Alamy The provocative French melodrama about a voluptuous teenager who scandalizes Saint-Tropez was a box office smash both abroad and in the United States, despite mixed critical reviews and condemnation by watchdog groups like the National Legion of Decency.
—Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 28 Dec. 2025
The mortal wound is not physical, the book, so far from being a melodrama, is very brilliantly understated.
—Literary Hub, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for melodrama
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melodrama
Noun
-
Sahlins and Close were friends and the improv-sketch divide was never absolute in Chicago comedy circles.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Chelsea Green is perhaps the most entertaining star in all of WWE, but she’s been largely booked as a comedy character on the main roster.—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
As expected, there was precisely zero sentimentality from Quick, who was the Conn Smythe winner during the Kings’ first Stanley Cup title run in 2012 and their starting goalie for their second in 2014 as well.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
21 Jan. 2026
-
John, who plays Mickey’s father in the film, described watching Zelda and Toby inhabit such fraught roles without sentimentality.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Stoppard broke through in 1966 with his play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, an ambitious tragicomedy that reimagines the lives of two minor characters in Shakespare’s Hamlet, and which became a landmark moment in British theater.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
29 Nov. 2025
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The citizen in you laughs heartily as this film, a tragicomedy, skewers the hypocrisies and ironies of the repressed West.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
21 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
While this gentler effort is unlikely to be similarly impactful, its witty humor and genuine emotionalism recall the best of Pixar, where its director worked as a story artist on such films as Wall-E and Incredibles 2.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
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Arpino’s interest in popular culture, athletic technique, and unapologetic emotionalism has found a new audience in the post-Balanchine world.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
How that psychodrama played out in the UK could have lessons for the US — not least because Cummings eventually succeeded in undermining Johnson’s political career, ultimately defenestrating the prime minister through relentless briefings and leaks.—
Jim Waterson,
semafor.com,
6 June 2025
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And there are many things that people can actually do to get this transcendence, to get away from the tedium of the psychodrama of your own life.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
25 May 2025
Noun
-
The historical newspaper clippings speak to her belief that the shooting was not a one-off tragedy but rather the latest symptom of resurgent antisemitism.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
22 Jan. 2026
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The fact that the university officials caved in to those opinions is the real tragedy.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
So Mark initially came to me reporting symptoms of headache, memory loss, sleep difficulties, emotionality, and irritability.—
Scott Pelley,
CBS News,
14 Jan. 2026
-
In the first season, that emotionality felt calibrated.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Inspired by Keys’ own upbringing in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, the coming-of-age musical follows Ali, a 17-year-old girl finding her voice through music, mentorship and community.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
15 Jan. 2026
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The audacious musical, from auteur Jacques Audiard, earned Saldaña prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, where the film debuted, as well as a clean sweep of awards season accolades, including a SAG award, BAFTA award, Golden Globe and Critics Choice award.—
Angelique Jackson,
Variety,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Melodrama.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melodrama. Accessed 27 Jan. 2026.
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