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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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But his performance as the coldly confident Conway is still an excellent part of the world Scorsese constructs, and De Niro underplays to excellent effects.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
24 Mar. 2025
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By de-emphasizing the will of not just Poles but also Ukrainians, Hubris underplays the key factor that brought Putin to the point of annexing Crimea in 2014: Ukraine’s fervent hope for closer trade ties with the EU.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Even critics of higher education and Trump allies believe Trump is dramatically overplaying his hand.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
19 Apr. 2025
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The net effect, however, is that a core group of players has potentially been overplayed.—
Gregg Evans,
The Athletic,
18 Mar. 2025
Verb
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House Republicans defended a bill that would enact sweeping tax cuts, raise the debt ceiling, and add restrictions to benefit programs during a heated marathon day of committee hearings on Capitol Hill.—
Riley Beggin,
USA Today,
13 May 2025
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The Trump administration hopes the plan will be enacted by July 4.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 May 2025
Verb
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Scenarios are acted out involving a rabbit who enjoys frequenting the circus and a ticket-taker bear who relishes enforcing the rules with all his brutal might.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2025
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Prosecutors told the court that Vallow Daybell had acted out of self-interest, not self-preservation, with plans to cash in on her estranged husband’s $1 million life insurance policy.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
24 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Christians are to imitate Christ, the true Good Samaritan, called to view all as nothing less than kin in sin and in the promise of salvation.—
Anna Rowlands,
Time,
12 May 2025
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Volunteers rappelled from the top of a building as sirens went off and firecrackers erupted — apparently to imitate shelling in one drill in the Indian port city of Mumbai.—
Diaa Hadid,
NPR,
7 May 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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The four-part historical drama series dramatizes the story of Cassandra Austen burning her more-famous sister Jane’s personal letters (okay, Amy March from Little Women vibes!), turning it into an in-depth look at the complex love that can emerge between siblings.—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
2 May 2025
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The show dramatizes the real story the Barnett family adopting Natalia Grace, a child with dwarfism, in 2010.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
30 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Misdiagnoses are possible, the FDA cautioned, as symptoms may mimic allergic reactions or other skin conditions, delaying appropriate treatment.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 May 2025
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In some of the biography’s most captivating pages, for example, Delisle mimics Muybridge’s ingenious in-motion photographs.—
Bob Blaisdell,
Christian Science Monitor,
8 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overact. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
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