Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of overact
On-screen, the speech’s prestige can overwhelm its existential subject matter, and the passage tends to get overacted.
—
Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 15 Dec. 2025
Snook 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
There are few instances of someone overacting more in a movie, unnecessarily adding an undercurrent of murderous, jokey psychotic to an already bizarre creation.
—Mark Kennedy, Boston Herald, 13 Dec. 2024
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
The performances seems inspired by the over-the-top techniques of actors who tried to do too much when sound finally came to films, but were used to overacting.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 25 Sep. 2024
Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 15 Dec. 2025
Snook 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
There are few instances of someone overacting more in a movie, unnecessarily adding an undercurrent of murderous, jokey psychotic to an already bizarre creation.
—Mark Kennedy, Boston Herald, 13 Dec. 2024
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
The performances seems inspired by the over-the-top techniques of actors who tried to do too much when sound finally came to films, but were used to overacting.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 25 Sep. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overact
Verb
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Snow accumulation expected through Monday evening KDKA Weather Center Working these types of systems before, model data normally underplays the strength of the warm air and pushes this rain-snow line too far south.—
Ron Smiley,
CBS News,
29 Nov. 2025
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Most importantly, the film tries to underplay the massive identity and religious politics that the Bengal border has seen since the lines were drawn.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
23 Nov. 2025
Verb
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And powerful people tend to overplay their hands.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
30 Dec. 2025
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Malek, though, overplays his character’s reactions in the end as Kelley realizes that the manipulator he’s been talking to is the personification of evil.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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To date, 27 states have enacted laws barring transgender participation in sports.—
Nina Totenberg,
NPR,
13 Jan. 2026
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The city’s housing crisis began nearly a century ago during the Great Depression (more than 35 years before the Landmarks Law was even enacted), and has experienced a series of improvements and setbacks with the ebbs and flows of our developing and unpredictable economy.—
Michael S. Hiller,
New York Daily News,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The actors joked about how trying to put on medical gloves quickly enough while remembering and acting out dialogue can make scenes go sideways in a heartbeat.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Dec. 2025
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Ordained to the Catholic priesthood in June, Jimenez was watching as parishioners acted out the Nativity scene during a posada, a Latin American tradition that reenacts Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem in search of shelter.—
Alex Riggins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Dec. 2025
Verb
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James said while walking through the venue, imitating her excitement.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
6 Jan. 2026
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When anchors John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois took over CBS Evening News last year, part of the network’s strategy was to imitate a local news format, with a genial cast of personalities reporting from the field.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Today, Margaret would be playacting her own massacre in active shooter drills at school.—
Petula Dvorak,
Washington Post,
1 May 2023
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Trixie advises Alma to playact highness to flummox E.B.—
Matt Zoller Seitz,
Vulture,
18 Dec. 2021
Verb
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Her film is an honorable attempt to dramatize the everyday agonies and frustrations of Red Crescent workers, to honor their quick thinking and astonishing courage under duress.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
14 Jan. 2026
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Composed of pictograms, the Azcatitlán’s 25 folios feature a succession of Aztec rulers, and dramatize the arrival of Hernán Cortés and Christianity.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The exercises mimicked the demands of difficult backcountry missions.—
Paige Williams,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
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The company is currently redesigning its website to mimic the ease of in-store shopping.—
Abigail Wilt,
Southern Living,
12 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Overact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overact. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
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