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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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Eric McDaniel, a professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin, said the post diverged from the manner in which previous administrations have characterized papal disagreements, often underplaying dissent but stopping short of falsely implying agreement.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The production, though, has some issues, some of which flow from a tendency of some in this cast to overplay in this very intimate house, arranged by director Hallie Gordon very intimately.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Feb. 2026
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Never have more teams overplayed more hands for less return.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Republicans have argued the judge did not have legal authority to enact a map that wasn’t approved by the Legislature.—
David A. Lieb,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2026
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Notably, the end of the emergency tariffs — which Trump enacted using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA — does deprive Democrats of some control over the levies’ future.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Fleming acts out each detail with gusto, and this full sensory barrage earns him his loudest round of applause yet.—
John Roy,
Vulture,
19 Feb. 2026
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Emotional humans acting out conflicts will never be able to operate a society that values life, liberty and the pursuit of universal happiness.—
Roger Van Zanen,
The Orlando Sentinel,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Jewsbury also highlighted the use of agate this season, which has calcium inclusions inside that imitate flowers.—
Tianwei Zhang,
Footwear News,
22 Feb. 2026
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According to Lizbeth Levinson, an attorney with Fox Rothschild, this is a savvy strategy on the part of Costco, and one that has since been imitated by over 1000 other companies.—
Jeff John Roberts,
Fortune,
20 Feb. 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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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
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The script stemmed from the desire to dramatize some situations and also the desire to shoot those scenes.—
Stephania Taladrid,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The floor-length, silk duchesse dress mimicked the silhouette and design of a classic trench coat, with tiny buckle detailing along the sleeve trims and a tie to secure the garment around her waist.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
22 Feb. 2026
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These areas mimic a natural desert oasis environment, where trees are clumped together and left to grow naturally, producing fruit and nourishing the local wildlife.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
21 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Overact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overact. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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