as in pretense
a display of emotion or behavior that is insincere or intended to deceive
it was clear to her friends that her reaction to the news was pure playacting
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Recent Examples of playacting
Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
Hence the infamous playacting subplot in her 1814 novel Mansfield Park, a novel written when Austen was at her professional peak.
—Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 11 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for playacting
Noun
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Workers in the scam compounds are often trafficked from third countries, usually under the pretense of a lucrative job offer, and then forced to scam people online with investment pitches or romantic ploys.—
Mithil Aggarwal,
NBC news,
23 Oct. 2025
-
All of Beaton’s extravagance, artifice and pretence stemmed from him trying to become something he was never born into.—
Hikmat Mohammed,
Footwear News,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Those wanting to stream the show live can do so with a Peacock premium subscription or stream new episodes the next day with a basic Peacock subscription.—
Kaycee Sloan,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
26 Oct. 2025
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The pregame show has room to improve.—
Andrew Marchand,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The pair took their Clueless looks to the next level by posing in front of a white Jeep just like the one driven by Cher in the movie — with Kim pouting at the wheel as North pulled a shocked face.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
26 Oct. 2025
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Bjork, however, went all-in on the look, posing on the cover of Vogue Scandinavia in the blurred tulle Margiela gown with a merkin wig, fashioned from real human hair and painstakingly embroidered to the crotch of an underlaid silk stocking bodysuit.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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On Monday, The Washington Post reported that his construction crews have begun demolishing the facade of the White House’s East Wing to build a ballroom.—
Michelle Goldberg,
Mercury News,
23 Oct. 2025
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On Wednesday, the team announced the creation of a new way to evaluate the performance of photoactive materials for semi-transparent organic photovoltaics (ST-OPVs), which could transform how energy is harvested through everyday surfaces like windows, screens, and facades.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Choose a reason, such as pretending to be someone else.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
28 Oct. 2025
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White, by contrast, is pretending to be one of America’s greatest musical icons, even doing his own singing.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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This act would make daylight saving time permanent and end the bi-annual tradition of changing the clocks.—
Haadiza Ogwude,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
25 Oct. 2025
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The film’s tonal balancing act — mixing absurdist humor with Anderson’s trademark intensity — seemed obviously comedic to casual awards observers, and the filmmakers, along with studio awards strategists, felt similarly.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The former instantly adds a second layer of security against unwanted guests, and the latter emits an ultra-loud alarm while acting like a door stop wedge, scaring off any stranger who tries to enter your room.—
Amelia McBride,
Travel + Leisure,
26 Oct. 2025
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Born June 25, 1925 in New York City, Lockhart began acting at age 8 with her stage debut in a 1933 production of Peter Ibbetson at the Metropolitan Opera House.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Several actors donned the iconic guise of Ghostface in the Scream franchise, but one of the most intriguing is Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) in the original film.—
Steven Thrash,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Oct. 2025
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In this guise, Saverino is breathless with excitement.—
Christopher Smith,
Oc Register,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Playacting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playacting. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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