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
-
The invader is a skillful art restorer, Lori Butler (Michaela Coel), who’s been hired by Julian’s greedy children, Barnaby (James Corden) and Sallie (Jessica Gunning), to work, or pose, as their father’s new assistant.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Juvenile great whites typically pose little danger to humans, but have been known to bite defensively when hooked.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Most guys can get by without an aftershave, no shortage of which are fragrance conduits masquerading as moisturizers.—
Justin Fenner,
Robb Report,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Even the biggest indie acts of the last 15 years or so tend to be solo singer-songwriters masquerading as bands, but Brooklyn’s Geese, the buzziest rock band in years, are a total exception.—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Wolf, ruled out for the season Friday but still available for his exit interview before Sunday’s game, didn’t pretend the season has been enjoyable.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
5 Apr. 2026
-
This team is improved, has a deeper roster, no longer pretends Kris Bryant is a major league player and features more functional pitchers (No, seriously).—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In a message from True Religion to Saba following the incident, the brand said the report was filed due to Saba’s unauthorized entry to the offices by impersonating as a delivery person and his initial refusal to leave, which alarmed the brand’s staff.—
Angela Velasquez,
Footwear News,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The account, which impersonated Jonathan’s veterinarian, Joe Hollins, quickly gained traction and sparked concern among fans around the world.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Keep your eyes open for new opportunities and be ready to act.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
5 Apr. 2026
-
This has parents concerned and states across the political spectrum starting to act.—
Abby McCloskey,
Boston Herald,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Jack Plummer, who is now playing for the United Football League’s Orlando Storm, spent the bulk of the 2024 season on the practice squad as a third arm.—
Mike Kaye
April 1,
Charlotte Observer,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Emma D'Arcy landed an Emmy nomination playing an older version of Rhaenyra later in Season 1 and stayed the lead in Season 2, though Alcock also reprised her role as a guest star.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 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
-
Institutions that once at least feigned being an ally are now demonstrating the opposite.—
Ron Stodghill,
Miami Herald,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Combs doesn’t even bother to feign a surprise.—
Stephen Thomas Erlewine,
Pitchfork,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Playact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playact. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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