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Recent Examples of overact
There are few instances of someone overacting more in a movie, unnecessarily adding an undercurrent of murderous, jokey psychotic to an already bizarre creation.
—
Mark Kennedy, Boston Herald, 13 Dec. 2024
The college student performers from the Hartt School aren’t encouraged to overact during the party scene anymore — no more drunk jokes or pratfalls.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 11 Dec. 2024
In regard to overacting, Pacino addresses it on a case-by-case basis: Some movies call for it, like Scarface.
—Chris Stanton, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2024
The performances seems inspired by the over-the-top techniques of actors who tried to do too much when sound finally came to films, but were used to overacting.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 25 Sep. 2024
Their turns are driven to cartoonish overacting in great part by the words they’ve been asked to say in English and in angry tones.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 30 Aug. 2024
Meanwhile, Greenblatt’s playfully mischievous demeanor as Tina often reads as overacting.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024
The welcome lack of overacting is evident throughout the show.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 22 Apr. 2024
Sukowa seems to have been encouraged to overact, perhaps overcompensating for the film’s general listlessness.
—Pat Padua, Washington Post, 7 June 2023
Mark Kennedy, Boston Herald, 13 Dec. 2024
The college student performers from the Hartt School aren’t encouraged to overact during the party scene anymore — no more drunk jokes or pratfalls.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 11 Dec. 2024
In regard to overacting, Pacino addresses it on a case-by-case basis: Some movies call for it, like Scarface.
—Chris Stanton, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2024
The performances seems inspired by the over-the-top techniques of actors who tried to do too much when sound finally came to films, but were used to overacting.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 25 Sep. 2024
Their turns are driven to cartoonish overacting in great part by the words they’ve been asked to say in English and in angry tones.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 30 Aug. 2024
Meanwhile, Greenblatt’s playfully mischievous demeanor as Tina often reads as overacting.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024
The welcome lack of overacting is evident throughout the show.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 22 Apr. 2024
Sukowa seems to have been encouraged to overact, perhaps overcompensating for the film’s general listlessness.
—Pat Padua, Washington Post, 7 June 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overact
Verb
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Notice the costs of underplaying the conversation, which many tend to do.—
Hylke Faber,
Forbes,
10 Jan. 2025
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Gonski said that in addition to overstating certifiers’ responsibilities, Follow the Law’s messaging underplays the protections that already exist.—
Phoebe Petrovic,
ProPublica,
30 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Yet all this speaks to the risk the incoming Trump administration might overplay its hand on China.—
William Pesek,
Forbes,
17 Jan. 2025
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Sidenote: Some of us will overplay conversations, maybe because of our attachment to control and drama.—
Hylke Faber,
Forbes,
10 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The preeminent art show Documenta, which takes place once every five years in Kassel, Germany, has enacted a new code of conduct three years after an antisemitism scandal roiled its 2022 edition.—
The Editors of ARTnews,
ARTnews.com,
6 Feb. 2025
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While presidents who preceded Trump, as well as President Joe Biden, have also used tariffs, they were enacted for different reasons and at different magnitudes, experts say.—
Greg Iacurci,Ana Teresa Solá,
CNBC,
5 Feb. 2025
Verb
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So maybe, on some level, Jeff was acting out his cavalier attitude toward his own masculine spirit.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2025
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But by high school, Daniel began getting into trouble and acting out at home and in school, his father told the Miami Herald in the months after the stabbings.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The show seems to really imitate life, imitating art for me very often for all my big life moments.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
4 Feb. 2025
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Never duplicated but often imitated, its drumbeats are heartbeats of the inner person that ignites American culture and beyond.—
Ronald E. Scott,
New York Daily News,
1 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Today, Margaret would be playacting her own massacre in active shooter drills at school.—
Petula Dvorak,
Washington Post,
1 May 2023
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Trump’s modus, as ever, was to playact; his game has always been improv.—
Joe Klein,
Washington Post,
12 Jan. 2023
Verb
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The film follows Epstein's life and career and dramatizes the group's arrival in the United States in 1964 to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show.—
Tommy McArdle,
People.com,
31 Jan. 2025
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Netflix dramatized the events in Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, bringing the case back into the spotlight and making people advocate for their release.—
Armando Tinoco,
Deadline,
31 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Giving a heightened sense of drama to the occasion, the 18-year-old marked the goal by mimicking Haaland’s celebration – sitting cross-legged and closing his eyes as if meditating.—
George Ramsay,
CNN,
3 Feb. 2025
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Soaking seeds before planting them mimics the favorable growing conditions after a spring rain.—
Leanne Potts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
1 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near overact
Cite this Entry
“Overact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overact. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.
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