Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of overactSnook and Lacy, who display such sharp instincts in their best work, seem to have been directed to overact; cameras freeze on their exaggeratedly bewildered or angry or devastated expressions, putting exclamation points at the end of too many scenes.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
6 Nov. 2025 His presence is fresh, empathetic, often hypnotic, and never overacted.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
24 Oct. 2025 One could easily be accused of overacting, of doing too much.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
20 Feb. 2025 The college student performers from the Hartt School aren’t encouraged to overact during the party scene anymore — no more drunk jokes or pratfalls.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
11 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for overact
On the other hand, its artistic approach and wider story arc underplay the horror of WW1 combat.
—
Matt Gardner,
Forbes.com,
17 July 2026
In a lot of ways, Abrams’ underplay show at the storied club, billed as a free evening with the star, was more than just a celebration of her new album Daughter From Hell or practice for her upcoming tour.
The brothers pepper in POV shots of the climbers to literally put the audience in their shoes, but don’t overplay their hand, maintaining palpable reality even when the challenges mount to comical levels.
—
Todd Gilchrist,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2026
Cienfuegos’ show is exceptionally well-acted by the entire cast, this being a company that holds its fictional characters close to the heart and is determined never to overplay in this intimate venue.
Carrie Schmidt and Kimberly Twente were among a group of residents behind the petition seeking to enact a ban on large data centers in Edgerton.
—
Cuyler Dunn,
Kansas City Star,
4 Sep. 2026
What started in one state court has now spread across the country, with a plethora of athletes filing lawsuits against the NCAA, and now SEC, over new guidelines enacted pertaining to the five-for-five eligibility.
The next time your child acts out, try doing these five things.
—
Juli Fraga,
CNBC,
6 Sep. 2026
Inside, under flickering lights, a group of reluctant strangers is coaxed into acting out, in a converted gymnasium, a wild tale promising redemption from agonizing tragedy.
And besides, there’s a theory that, with the meow, the cats were evolving to imitate us.
—
Todd Martens,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Sep. 2026
To make a famous ivory-navy-and-red bouclé suit worn by Coco herself, for example, the team used combs from Walmart to crosshatch the paint’s surface and added dollops of paint to imitate bouclé’s popcorn texture.
The Trial of Louise Woodward will dramatize the story of Woodward, an 18-year-old British au pair who in 1997 was accused of shaking to death a baby who was left in her care by her host family in Massachusetts.
—
Rick Porter,
HollywoodReporter,
30 July 2026
Two teenagers, aided by an arborist, climbed a 100-foot pine tree outside a Pasadena high school Saturday to dramatize a campaign to stop a soil remediation project calling for the removal of nearly 200 trees at several school campuses.
—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
19 July 2026