playwright

noun

Definition of playwrightnext
as in writer
a person who writes plays The actor perfectly captured the unique cadences employed by the playwright.

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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 playwright And very few other Minnesota Fringe playwrights take creative dramatic swings quite like Mariabella Sorini and Alex Church. — Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 10 Aug. 2026 Ultimately, the playwright is more interested in the vulnerability and fragility of these characters than their shouty strengths. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 10 Aug. 2026 While Homer followed warriors sailing home from Troy, the playwright Euripides — writing some three centuries later — turned to the city’s ruins and its women, forced into exile and enslavement. — ABC News, 9 Aug. 2026 With Before Night Falls (2000), Schnabel tackled the life of poet-playwright Reinaldo Arenas and his struggles as a gay man in the Cuba of the 1960s and ’70s. — A.d. Amorosi, SPIN, 6 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for playwright
Recent Examples of Synonyms for playwright
  1. writer
  2. dramatist
  3. screenwriter
  4. author
Noun
  • Taylor Swift will be adding another trophy to her shelf, as the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame announced Tuesday that the superstar will be inducted into the hall this fall, becoming, at 36, the youngest writer ever to receive the honor.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 11 Aug. 2026
  • It’s been my privilege to learn, from scholars and thinkers and writers far more deeply rooted than myself in the American west, about its realities and relentless contradictions.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of writer
Noun
  • One of Gary Graves’ biggest strengths as a dramatist is that nary a word feels wasteful when written by him.
    — Charles Lewis III, Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The theater was built by songwriter, dramatist and playwright Arthur Hammerstein to honor his father, Oscar Hammerstein I, and opened as Hammerstein’s Theater in 1927.
    — Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 22 May 2026
Definition of dramatist
Noun
  • Hui was a leading figure in the Hong Kong New Wave as a director, screenwriter and producer, making her directing debut with The Secret in 1979.
    — Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Anna Juul is a screenwriter and novelist, satirist and board member with the Danish Mental Health Fund.
    — Sabrina Jaszi, The Dial, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of screenwriter
Noun
  • Assessing the entries this year were a total of six panels, comprised of independent experts from across the industry, including top writers, authors and broadcasters from England and Scotland.
    — Brad Japhe, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Follow-up research is needed to really prove bedbugs actually are spreading MRSA to people, said one of the study's authors, Jose Pietri, who is now at Purdue University.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of author

Browse Nearby Words

play (with)
playwright
playwrights
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Cite this Entry

“Playwright.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playwright. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on playwright

Nglish: Translation of playwright for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about playwright

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