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
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After his death, Aldean took to Instagram to pay tribute to the Turning Point USA CEO, sharing a photo of him and his wife posing alongside Kirk.—
Lori A Bashian,
FOXNews.com,
8 Nov. 2025
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Wireless systems also pose new safety risks, such as stray magnetic fields, fire hazards, and heating of metal objects, requiring further research and development (R&D) and stricter standardization.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Americans have largely abandoned digesting their news through the lens of activists who masquerade as journalists in the mainstream media.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
-
The hospitality industry is at a point where mediocrity often masquerades as success.—
Ascend Agency,
Oc Register,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Words like that carry generations of pain, and pretending otherwise only keeps the cycle going.—
Lisa Respers France,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
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Prosecutors said Montejano pretended to be a teenage boy on Snapchat, asked the girls to meet him in a public area at the apartment complex before forcing the girls into his apartment.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The experience of being impersonated led de Blasio to reflect on the need for stronger action around the safety risks of emerging technology.—
Jessica Coacci,
Fortune,
2 Nov. 2025
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From fake invoices to urgent messages impersonating company executives, phishing attacks are growing more personalized, more sophisticated—and more effective.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Tax rises would likely act as another damper on inflation by reducing consumer demand.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
6 Nov. 2025
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What was concerning, Creech said, was how his son was acting while sick.—
Erika Edwards,
NBC news,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Besides Adebayo, Miami’s only other available center was two-way contract player Vlad Goldin, who arrived from a G-League assignment but did not play.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
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The three titles that were won with fewer than 90 points were wrapped up with at least three games still to play, which led to an easing off in the final weeks.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Among the interested parties were shipbreakers planning to dissemble the vessel for scrap metal, according to Saw.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
21 Aug. 2025
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Authorities were forced to dissemble the back deck in order to rescue some of the pups that were beneath, according to the Strong Island Animal Rescue League, who assisted with the efforts.—
David Matthews,
New York Daily News,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Federal prosecutors claimed that Rozier was feigning the injury in front of an arena full of paying, unsuspecting fans.—
Minyvonne Burke,
NBC news,
27 Oct. 2025
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Pioneering journalist Nellie Bly feigned mental illness to gain admittance to the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island in New York (now known as Roosevelt Island) in 1887.—
Jen Rose Smith,
CNN Money,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Playact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playact. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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