as in to pose
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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 first photo in the carousel showed Brooks posing with her arms wrapped around her husband-to-be, flashing her ring as the couple posed for the camera in the black-and-white shot.—
Becca Longmire,
PEOPLE,
12 Sep. 2025
-
That's significant because the Environmental Protection Agency cited it in its attempts to roll back its prior finding that greenhouse gases posed a danger to the US public.—
Nate Anderson,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
One of Dubin’s most striking insights is that blind spots often masquerade as strengths.—
Rodger Dean Duncan,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Mathematicians have unraveled a key conjecture about knot theory Scanning the crowd at a fancy soiree may reveal a wide array of neckties, each fastened with a highly complex mathematical object masquerading as fashion.—
Max Springer,
Scientific American,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The study saw parents use actions to joke and pretend with kids aged 16 to 20 months old.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Scrolling on one’s phone can be a deadening experience, but here’s someone feeling, or at least pretending to feel, a genuine feeling—even if the abundance of these videos surely numbs us further.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The account that had impersonated him, after blowing up on @joma_gc, deactivated and removed all of its information from the page.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Hortman was killed alongside her husband in their Brooklyn Park home by a man allegedly impersonating a police officer.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The sound department actually played the music that would overlay the scene as Dockery acted.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
11 Sep. 2025
-
How much has Charlie Sheen earned from acting?—
Jordana Comiter,
PEOPLE,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Fashion and sociology experts say that, when examining the significance of any bold fashion statement such as Robbie's, context plays an important role.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
-
The Yankees played an integral part in the remembrance of 9/11.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Among the interested parties were shipbreakers planning to dissemble the vessel for scrap metal, according to Saw.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
21 Aug. 2025
-
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
-
McLeod’s video shows her teaching Ella how to feign death during a potential shooting by remaining motionless, often in an awkward pose, and holding her breath.—
Faith Karimi,
CNN Money,
29 Aug. 2025
-
That lack of confidence is charming and funny; when the experts on With Love, Meghan mess up, their humility feels feigned and unnatural, but Martin’s embarrassment only motivates everyone to help him out.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Playact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playact. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share