as in to pose
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Recent Examples of playact
Today, Margaret would be playacting her own massacre in active shooter drills at school.
—
Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 1 May 2023
Trump’s modus, as ever, was to playact; his game has always been improv.
—Joe Klein, Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2023
Trixie advises Alma to playact highness to flummox E.B.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2021
Today, this dynamic lives on in the form of Roblox strip clubs, where young people — mostly, minors — playact at adult sexuality.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 12 Sep. 2021
The world had first required her to playact as a man.
—Will Stephenson, Harper's Magazine, 15 Sep. 2020
Yona has it better than the locals who have agreed to playact, and likely die, in Mui’s fake new disaster.
—Madeline Leung Coleman, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2020
In a twist, The Sims is now a way to playact not just an alternate life, but any life at all.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 19 Apr. 2020
Cloud is almost childlike, a boy playacting at being a warrior and not always nailing the part.
—Julie Muncy, Wired, 10 Apr. 2020
Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 1 May 2023
Trump’s modus, as ever, was to playact; his game has always been improv.
—Joe Klein, Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2023
Trixie advises Alma to playact highness to flummox E.B.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2021
Today, this dynamic lives on in the form of Roblox strip clubs, where young people — mostly, minors — playact at adult sexuality.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 12 Sep. 2021
The world had first required her to playact as a man.
—Will Stephenson, Harper's Magazine, 15 Sep. 2020
Yona has it better than the locals who have agreed to playact, and likely die, in Mui’s fake new disaster.
—Madeline Leung Coleman, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2020
In a twist, The Sims is now a way to playact not just an alternate life, but any life at all.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 19 Apr. 2020
Cloud is almost childlike, a boy playacting at being a warrior and not always nailing the part.
—Julie Muncy, Wired, 10 Apr. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for playact
Verb
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Follow these recommendations from the NWS to stay safe in heavy rain: Beware of swollen waterways: During heavy rain, avoid parking or walking near culverts or drainage ditches, where swift-moving water can pose a serious risk.—
Bay Area Weather Report,
Mercury News,
7 June 2025
-
Openly feuding with Trump could pose multiple hurdles for Tesla and the rest of Musk's sprawling business empire.—
Chris Kirkham,
USA Today,
7 June 2025
Verb
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Eisenhower did not masquerade as any of these Wilsons.—
Bill Swank,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 June 2025
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Protecting Authentic Japanese Whisky The ascent of Japanese whisky on the world’s stage came with an unfortunate side effect: a more deceptive counterpart masquerading under the same name.—
Chris Perugini,
Forbes.com,
5 June 2025
Verb
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Diversify vendors, build local backups and stop pretending just-in-time solutions work in a world that’s anything but stable.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
16 June 2025
-
Let Lilian slow down and hesitate before issuing a greeting—Maureen would pretend to neither hear nor see her.—
Yiyun Li,
New Yorker,
15 June 2025
Verb
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Using tools like deepfakes, cybercriminals can impersonate high-ranking executives with alarming precision, manipulating trust to override judgment.—
Shai Gabay,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
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The White House has launched an investigation into attempts to impersonate President Donald Trump's chief of staff Susie Wiles.—
Jordan King
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 May 2025
Verb
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Smiley never acts for personal gain (though his skills do earn him the directorship of the Circus, by the time of 1977’s The Honourable Schoolboy).—
Rav Grewal-Kök
June 16,
Literary Hub,
16 June 2025
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Andrea Lucas, acting chair of the EEOC, issued a statement applauding the court’s decision.—
Dan Eaton,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 June 2025
Verb
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Sarah Snook, who played Shiv Roy on that HBO drama, was nominated (and went on to win!), following in the footsteps of her costars Jeremy Strong and Keiran Culkin.—
Melissa Locker,
Time,
9 June 2025
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While some sleep or watch movies, a small group plays poker.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
8 June 2025
Verb
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Some firms, however, have more adaptable structures that allow for individual initiatives and self-managing networks of autonomous teams, that are assembled and dissembled as needs are met.—
Joe McKendrick,
Forbes.com,
26 Apr. 2025
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The Kill or Capture Presidency You’d like your government to tell you the truth, and the government dissembled repeatedly after the raid about what the rules of engagement were.—
Aryeh Neier,
The New York Review of Books,
3 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Most of the other friends will feign interest and offer complimentary comments about the design.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
27 May 2025
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Pro Football Talk reported that a third player received a different sham call, this one feigning that he had been traded.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
29 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Playact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playact. Accessed 20 Jun. 2025.
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