as in actors
one who acts professionally (as in a play, movie, or television show)
although she's "acted" in a couple of horror movies, I'd hardly call her one of our more promising thespians
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of thespians
The occasional odd campaign moment and foot-in-mouth gaff didn't help – neither did Jordan getting top honors from his fellow thespians at the Actor Awards.
—
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026
Be sure to stick around for the twice-daily gunfights staged in the dusty streets by local thespians in 10-gallon hats.
—Zoey Goto, Travel + Leisure, 8 Mar. 2026
The pic which stars a murderer’s row of thespians including Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Al Pacino, and Martin Scorsese, follows a disillusioned author who is drawn into a violent underworld quest to authenticate a manuscript believed to be Dante Alighieri’s original Divine Comedy.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 6 Mar. 2026
The casting matches the meathead characters visually, but the disproportionate number of objectively bad thespians on Team Thin Blue Line results in an acting performance disparity that’s sometimes brutal to watch as the fighting progresses.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 16 Jan. 2026
The point is, a whole generation of young British thespians has figured out the one thing almost as good as being cast as James Bond is being rumored for the part.
—Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 15 Jan. 2026
Fine Arts Theatre Endowment to give back to Southwest Minnesota State and provide scholarships to aspiring thespians.
—Dennis Romero, NBC news, 31 Dec. 2025
In fact, the last one is for real as the aspiring thespians eventually discover.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 7 Nov. 2025
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026
Be sure to stick around for the twice-daily gunfights staged in the dusty streets by local thespians in 10-gallon hats.
—Zoey Goto, Travel + Leisure, 8 Mar. 2026
The pic which stars a murderer’s row of thespians including Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Al Pacino, and Martin Scorsese, follows a disillusioned author who is drawn into a violent underworld quest to authenticate a manuscript believed to be Dante Alighieri’s original Divine Comedy.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 6 Mar. 2026
The casting matches the meathead characters visually, but the disproportionate number of objectively bad thespians on Team Thin Blue Line results in an acting performance disparity that’s sometimes brutal to watch as the fighting progresses.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 16 Jan. 2026
The point is, a whole generation of young British thespians has figured out the one thing almost as good as being cast as James Bond is being rumored for the part.
—Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 15 Jan. 2026
Fine Arts Theatre Endowment to give back to Southwest Minnesota State and provide scholarships to aspiring thespians.
—Dennis Romero, NBC news, 31 Dec. 2025
In fact, the last one is for real as the aspiring thespians eventually discover.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 7 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thespians
Noun
-
Still, the series might have flopped were its actors not so likable.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
-
The actors paused momentarily before continuing.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Alaska, Hawaiian are consistent performers The AQR also singled out Alaska Airlines as the steadiest performer in the industry.—
Christopher Elliott,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
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With Thurman leaving no crumbs in her performance as the revenge-seeking matriarch of criminals, she is complimented by a talented ensemble of young actresses.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
13 Mar. 2026
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Instead, the images shown feature girls and women, all non-actresses, caught in private moments inside their homes and in ordinary life, mixed with improvised scenes in a school, as well as landscape and observational scenes.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Thespians.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thespians. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
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