variants
or stagey
1
as in theatrical
given to or marked by attention-getting behavior suggestive of stage acting
a motivational speaker whose stagy presentations motivate some listeners to head for the nearest exit
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dramatic
having the general quality or effect of a stage performance
the president's and the prime minister's public display of mutual admiration was a little too stagy to be convincing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stagy
Some reservations: Song plays out the scenes between Lucy and Harry, and between Lucy and John, as two-way dialogues that are often stagy and too on-the-nose.
—
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2025
His Cabinet gathered in the Rose Garden alongside supporters wearing hard hats and reflective vests—a stagy reference to all the manufacturing jobs that would presumably be flooding back to U.S. soil.
—Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
Ferrell just isn’t right for this part: The role is too stagy, too wordy for him, and his style of comedy is just too modern and deconstructionist to handle the Borscht Belt punning of Mel Brooks.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
Here was elegance without exaggeration, tension and beauty without stagy excess.
—James Shapiro, The New York Review of Books, 3 Jan. 2025
This framing device, which has the clunky air of a middlebrow play, provides a convenient if stagy way of breaking down his biography into manageable parts.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024
Advertisement Gwen Grastorf’s embodiment of the scheming goody-goody Arsinoë is a tad stagy, but the character is still a fine foil for the quick-witted Célimène.
—Celia Wren, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
The fact that the film was made inexpensively, though not a vice in and of itself, is not especially compensated for by Joe Collins’ cinematography, which renders Heffernan’s compositions flat, stagy and small.
—Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 17 Apr. 2023
The stagy devices give the impression of notions that may have seemed like brainstorms in rehearsal but in performance feel overly artificial.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2023
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2025
His Cabinet gathered in the Rose Garden alongside supporters wearing hard hats and reflective vests—a stagy reference to all the manufacturing jobs that would presumably be flooding back to U.S. soil.
—Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
Ferrell just isn’t right for this part: The role is too stagy, too wordy for him, and his style of comedy is just too modern and deconstructionist to handle the Borscht Belt punning of Mel Brooks.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
Here was elegance without exaggeration, tension and beauty without stagy excess.
—James Shapiro, The New York Review of Books, 3 Jan. 2025
This framing device, which has the clunky air of a middlebrow play, provides a convenient if stagy way of breaking down his biography into manageable parts.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024
Advertisement Gwen Grastorf’s embodiment of the scheming goody-goody Arsinoë is a tad stagy, but the character is still a fine foil for the quick-witted Célimène.
—Celia Wren, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
The fact that the film was made inexpensively, though not a vice in and of itself, is not especially compensated for by Joe Collins’ cinematography, which renders Heffernan’s compositions flat, stagy and small.
—Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 17 Apr. 2023
The stagy devices give the impression of notions that may have seemed like brainstorms in rehearsal but in performance feel overly artificial.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stagy
Adjective
-
And there’s all kinds of theatrical fun at Bourbon Steak in Las Vegas.—
Andy Wang,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
-
Off the heels of Dior Men’s era of Kim Jones, who offered elegant twists on menswear in theatrical runway shows, Anderson ushered in a playful, everyday sense of luxury, delving into the house’s heritage by reintroducing classic silhouettes morphed in new ways.—
Alice Pfeiffer,
CNN Money,
1 July 2025
Adjective
-
The Brewers' dramatic extra-innings win Wednesday sealed a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
11 July 2025
-
Not for nothing either does Succession borrow a dramatic template—Shakespeare’s King Lear—that comes with immediate psychological stakes.—
Brittany Allen
July 10,
Literary Hub,
10 July 2025
Adjective
-
The Call Her Daddy host performed the classic track during the seventh-inning stretch of the game between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Sunday night, offering an operatic take alongside two backup performers that elicited boos from the packed stadium.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
7 July 2025
-
The chorus is essentially one word (peaches) repeated incessantly with operatic bombast.—
John Werner,
Forbes.com,
7 July 2025
Adjective
-
The war stories in particular, despite being well-acted, are an unnecessary melodramatic distraction.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
25 June 2025
-
Where to watch: Disney+ 'Straw' Tyler Perry's melodramatic thriller depicts the worst day a parent could ever have.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
14 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stagy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stagy. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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