as in to pose
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Recent Examples of playact
Today, Margaret would be playacting her own massacre in active shooter drills at school.
—
Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 1 May 2023
Trixie advises Alma to playact highness to flummox E.B.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2021
Today, this dynamic lives on in the form of Roblox strip clubs, where young people — mostly, minors — playact at adult sexuality.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 12 Sep. 2021
The world had first required her to playact as a man.
—Will Stephenson, Harper's Magazine, 15 Sep. 2020
Yona has it better than the locals who have agreed to playact, and likely die, in Mui’s fake new disaster.
—Madeline Leung Coleman, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2020
Cloud is almost childlike, a boy playacting at being a warrior and not always nailing the part.
—Julie Muncy, Wired, 10 Apr. 2020
Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 1 May 2023
Trixie advises Alma to playact highness to flummox E.B.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2021
Today, this dynamic lives on in the form of Roblox strip clubs, where young people — mostly, minors — playact at adult sexuality.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 12 Sep. 2021
The world had first required her to playact as a man.
—Will Stephenson, Harper's Magazine, 15 Sep. 2020
Yona has it better than the locals who have agreed to playact, and likely die, in Mui’s fake new disaster.
—Madeline Leung Coleman, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2020
Cloud is almost childlike, a boy playacting at being a warrior and not always nailing the part.
—Julie Muncy, Wired, 10 Apr. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for playact
Verb
-
Whether your child plays a contact sport or participates in activities like gymnastics or skating, loose or exposed mouth jewelry poses a choking and injury hazard.—
Ryan Brennan,
Charlotte Observer,
24 Feb. 2026
-
This La Salle team poses a big threat inside.—
Tarek Fattal,
Daily News,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
On the flip side, Lang warns that there are some serious conditions that can masquerade as menopause symptoms.—
Jocelyn Solis-Moreira,
Flow Space,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Desert landscapes and fun cowboy-esque decor dotted the walls and surfaces; a queen-size Murphy bed masquerading as a barn door provided ample sleeping options.—
Asonta Benetti,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
There wouldn’t have been any point to our pretending not to be Jewish, because everybody thought of us as Jewish and that would never change.—
Nicholas Lemann,
New Yorker,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Custom Curtains When Windows Misbehave Standard sizes pretend every window is the same height, width, and position.—
Maria Williams,
Ascend Agency,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The caller sounded similar to Trump, impersonating the president’s voice in the segment.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Feb. 2026
-
The fraudsters went so far as to host sham immigration proceedings, including asylum interviews and court appearances via video conference, in which the defendants donned judicial robes and law enforcement uniforms to impersonate court officials.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
And [for] a kid that never really went to acting classes and never went to acting school or anything like that, that was my education.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Feb. 2026
-
This is also a strong day for those in sales, marketing, teaching, acting or writing, because your words are gold!—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
There’s also a separate space for teenagers to hang out, take dance classes, or play in video game tournaments.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Newport Harbor had played 19 innings in a doubleheader Saturday and played eight innings Monday in a win over Woodlands Christian.—
Michael Huntley,
Oc Register,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Nor have the Trumps dissembled about Amazon’s payment of forty million dollars for the rights to the film—more than twice as much as the second-highest bid—with twenty-eight million reportedly flowing directly to the First Lady.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
8 Feb. 2026
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With his multi-instrumentalist bandmates, PJ Moore and co-songwriter Robert Bell, Buchanan zooms into these exchanges to prolong them or dissembles them into jagged pieces that leave the bigger picture to us.—
Sam Sodomsky,
Pitchfork,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Those of us who would love to have agents and publishing houses dictating our next books feigned sympathy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Akhparian asked while patting himself down and feigning to be in search of a weapon.—
Linh Tat,
Daily News,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Playact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playact. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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