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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The pair posed for photos and watched the film together.
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Assessments of the damage are preliminary, the statement said, as aftershocks continue to pose risks to those who live in the country and to the teams descending to help clean up the rubble.
Verb
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What’s worrying to him is that abundance can masquerade as sufficiency.
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Conspiracy of data Whenever Americans are hungry for answers, platforms such as these can more easily masquerade as objective data analysis tools.
Verb
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Aegon, reeling from his brother’s betrayal and, likely, the early stages of opiate withdrawal, refuses to pledge (pretend) fealty to the Blacks and so Larys reveals Aegon’s identity.
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But for a little while in Pinehurst, a room full of journalists and a parking lot full of golf fans agreed to pretend otherwise.
Verb
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Determined to be seen as extraordinary, Elizabeth begins copying, stalking and impersonating Laura to try and win a Harvard spot for herself.
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Hobby is still charged with impersonating a police officer and firefighter.
Verb
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DeSantis panned that idea, noting that the federal government isn’t acting.
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The report’s key finding was that an odd, angry, 24-year-old assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, had acted alone, for reasons nobody could quite figure out.
Verb
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For tour this time around, Pillsbury is looking forward to playing larger venues, which offer space for grander production.
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The elder Moniak, now 86, played six seasons in the Red Sox farm system from 1958-63, and like Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, was among the young outfielders who benefited from the tutelage of a special batting instructor named Ted Williams at spring training ‘61-63.
Verb
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Instead, whole grains and foods are dissembled into molecules which, with the help of artificial colorings, flavorings and gluelike emulsifiers, are heated, pounded, shaped or extruded into any food a manufacturer can dream up.
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When McKenzie asks him how much he’s contributed to the coffers of politicians, his dodging of the question is pure dissembling theater.
Verb
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Kimmel feigned surprise at the delivery, even when the driver insisted on bringing the smaller one inside the studio.
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The heavy side part feigns an almost asymmetrical look, which offsets heaviness on the ends and frames the face in a fun way.
Cite this Entry
“Playact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playact. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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