Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of overact
Adrien Brody can’t stop overacting in a commercial for TurboTax.
—
Dee-Ann Durbin, Fortune, 8 Feb. 2026
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
Dee-Ann Durbin, Fortune, 8 Feb. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overact
Verb
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However, testimony also revealed text messages and emails between Gray and his supervisors that prosecutors say appeared to underplay the severity of the incident on the day of the shooting.—
Skyler Henry,
CBS News,
24 Feb. 2026
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Compared to our lab results, most of these certificates severely underplayed the amount of delta-9 THC in the product.—
Gina Lee Castro,
jsonline.com,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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One of the dangers with this particular title is that actors overplay, thinking that the show-within-a-show and period style offer some license in that direction.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Mar. 2026
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Campbell is indispensable here and a solid actor who never overplays the terror but comes loaded for bear when her daughter inherits the curse of Ghostface.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Murphy's ruling on Monday halted a government memo enacting the new vaccine schedule, and halted the appointments of 13 new ACIP members and all votes taken by them.—
Jacob Rosen,
CBS News,
16 Mar. 2026
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Senate Bill 102 seeks to enact some of the strictest statewide regulations on the booming industry.—
Nick Coltrain,
Denver Post,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The still-living members of the Clyburn family act out their heartbreak in a variety of ways.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
13 Mar. 2026
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Furthermore, writing and acting out plays about their experiences with type 1 diabetes also eases children’s anxieties around their condition.—
Elizabeth McClure,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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And that is exactly why the fixation on recreating her look and imitating her to a T is so misguided.—
Tamim Alnuweiri,
InStyle,
15 Mar. 2026
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The indie movie, which runs a tight 1 hour and 21 minutes, is a perfect example of life imitating art — minus the murder.—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
14 Mar. 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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Compared with a vicious online duel, this conflict is hard to dramatize.—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2026
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If the stakes in Olivia Ferney‘s social media videos aren’t high enough for you, Fifth Season is set to dramatize the ultra-luxury travel concierge’s fancy — and stressful — life, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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These systems can detect naval mines and trigger them safely by mimicking the movement and acoustic signals of large ships.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Mar. 2026
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This manicure has a mix of moss green shades and lighter beige tints that mimic nature's landscape.—
Daisy Maldonado,
InStyle,
15 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Overact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overact. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
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