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Recent Examples of overact
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
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
In regard to overacting, Pacino addresses it on a case-by-case basis: Some movies call for it, like Scarface.
—Chris Stanton, Vulture, 21 Oct. 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
Their turns are driven to cartoonish overacting in great part by the words they’ve been asked to say in English and in angry tones.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 30 Aug. 2024
Meanwhile, Greenblatt’s playfully mischievous demeanor as Tina often reads as overacting.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 11 Dec. 2024
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
In regard to overacting, Pacino addresses it on a case-by-case basis: Some movies call for it, like Scarface.
—Chris Stanton, Vulture, 21 Oct. 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
Their turns are driven to cartoonish overacting in great part by the words they’ve been asked to say in English and in angry tones.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 30 Aug. 2024
Meanwhile, Greenblatt’s playfully mischievous demeanor as Tina often reads as overacting.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overact
Verb
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Mintz more than matches the acrobatic dancing of Donald O’Connor’s Cosmo in the movie but underplays the character’s goofiness and goes for a sly, self-respecting sassiness instead.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
22 July 2025
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To say that there is no love lost between the two sides would be to underplay the depth of feeling here.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
9 June 2025
Verb
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But overplaying concerns about pesticides or additives does little more than discredit the food system writ large and suggest women find other solutions that may not be as feasible, affordable, or even safe.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
10 June 2025
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An optimistic view of the confrontation would be that both sides responded with appropriate and measured retaliation without overplaying their hands.—
AQIL SHAH,
Foreign Affairs,
23 May 2025
Verb
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Some updates are needed Much has changed in the decades since Congress wrote the law, but Congress has not enacted updates to keep up.—
Anna Kirkland,
The Conversation,
15 Aug. 2025
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Congress enacted these subsidies during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure people had health insurance.—
CalMatters,
Mercury News,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Prosecutors argued the brothers acted out of greed, resorting to murder to get their multimillion-dollar inheritances before being cut out of their parents’ will.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
21 Aug. 2025
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Going back to the basics—and sticking with them—can help reduce anxiety and the desire to act out of impulsivity.—
Christopher Steward,
Forbes.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Although Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis had a cutthroat rivalry in Black Swan, life did not imitate art for the actresses, despite Darren Aronofsky‘s best attempts.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
15 Aug. 2025
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The fake pool has been designed to imitate the uppermost twenty feet of the real one as closely as possible, down to the contours of its sides, which are made not from rock but from plastic foam sealed with fibreglass.—
Elizabeth Kolbert,
New Yorker,
9 Aug. 2025
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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Trump’s modus, as ever, was to playact; his game has always been improv.—
Joe Klein,
Washington Post,
12 Jan. 2023
Verb
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Created by This Is Us writer-producer K.J. Steinberg, the eight-part mini series dramatizes the controversial case and the media circus that followed the American exchange student, who was twice convicted and twice acquitted.—
Danielle Directo-Meston,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Aug. 2025
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Year: 1995 Runtime: 2h 8m Lee’s attempt to both dramatize the effects (and causes) of African-American crime also tries to double as a thriller.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But for some, the consequences of AI signal a systemic, dehumanizing transformation, where generative systems mimic not just content, but the entire ecosystem: creator, reviewer, performer, promoter, consumer.—
Emil Steiner,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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Versions with straps that mimic the look of a Mary-Jane are also quite popular.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Glamour,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overact. Accessed 26 Aug. 2025.
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