Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of overact
That secret shakes Charlie’s love for his intended, messes with work, affects his performance in bed and prompts him to spiral out, overacting at every step.
—
Mark Kennedy, Boston Herald, 2 Apr. 2026
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
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
Mark Kennedy, Boston Herald, 2 Apr. 2026
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
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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YouTube as the new film school, YouTube as the new film festival, YouTube as the new music-video breeding ground — is to dramatically underplay it.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
31 May 2026
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However, because the artists were not of Mexican descent, Chicano music histories often overlook or underplay this era.—
Oliver Wang,
Los Angeles Times,
4 May 2026
Verb
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In a couple of instances, the director overplays her hand.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2026
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Lue has tried to stagger their minutes to not overplay them.—
Janis Carr,
Oc Register,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The city of Durham enacted a 60-day moratorium in May after residents also cited concerns about environmental impacts.—
Mary Ramsey
Updated June 8,
Charlotte Observer,
9 June 2026
-
The requirement, which Newsom enacted by executive order in March 2025, begins July 1 and requires all state workers to work in the office at least four days a week.—
Kassia Bonesteel,
CBS News,
9 June 2026
Verb
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Some of the most outrageous scenes are between Stacy, who likes to act out, and her forbearing therapist (Will Arnett).—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
4 June 2026
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In the video, Allie dramatically acted out both sides of the conversation, capturing the feeling of trying to extract a straightforward answer from her mom.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
3 June 2026
Verb
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Another attractive use for machine learning is to train a model to imitate other models.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
8 June 2026
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His use of jocular names for detention centers has been imitated by other Republican governors creating state facilities to be used by ICE.—
Eric Schlosser,
The Atlantic,
4 June 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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The basic themes of Hearst’s life and the novels that dramatize it remain distressingly relevant.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 May 2026
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The seemingly limitless budgets and bottomless demand for content of the streaming television era have allowed studios to dramatize both long-ago and recent disasters.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Push the blocking sled back, move the cushions mimicking an offensive linemen to the left and place your head and body on the outside of its left shoulder to ensure that the edge is set.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
7 June 2026
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The key to mimicking her look is a pair of no-frills pants like these from Amazon.—
Izzy Baskette,
PEOPLE,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Overact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overact. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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