as in pretense
a display of emotion or behavior that is insincere or intended to deceive
it was clear to her friends that her reaction to the news was pure playacting
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Recent Examples of playacting
Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
Hence the infamous playacting subplot in her 1814 novel Mansfield Park, a novel written when Austen was at her professional peak.
—Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 11 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for playacting
Noun
-
Harold is so clearly not a great man that his pretenses feel more like cries for help.—
Jeremy Gordon,
The Atlantic,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Trump’s decision to resurrect the name Department of War strips away that pretense.—
Tom Debley,
Mercury News,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The series, created by married couple Zach Baylin and Kate Susman, drew inspiration from New York’s dynamic nightclub and restaurant culture, which laid the groundwork for the show’s atmosphere.—
Giana Levy,
Variety,
20 Sep. 2025
-
Bring a bottle of bug spray, a blanket or a comfortable beach chair, then sit back and enjoy the show.—
John Tufts,
Louisville Courier Journal,
20 Sep. 2025
Verb
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One image showed a young woman posing with a Prada bag worth $2,600, in a country where the average yearly income in Nepal is less than $1,500 a year.—
Omkar Khandekar,
NPR,
20 Sep. 2025
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In the photos, Candace can be seen posing next to the newlyweds in a blue dress with a floral detail on the bodice, and in another image helping zip Natasha into her strapless lace Kinsley Couture gown.—
Lori A Bashian,
FOXNews.com,
20 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Hotel Excelsior Venice Lido, a 1908 Moorish fantasy commissioned by entrepreneur Nicolò Spada, boasts Byzantine domes and an eclectic façade that have sheltered everyone from Winston Churchill to Erroll Flynn, from Greta Garbo to Clark Gable.—
Jenn Rice,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
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The industry groups also dismissed Shein’s partnership with French retailer Pimkie as a facade to provide legitimacy to the Chinese giant.—
Rhonda Richford,
Footwear News,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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These issues are very real and generally speaking there are very few, if any, magic combinations of settings to cure these problems for many players, and pretending like that’s true is either disingenuous or misinformed.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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Scrolling on one’s phone can be a deadening experience, but here’s someone feeling, or at least pretending to feel, a genuine feeling—even if the abundance of these videos surely numbs us further.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Kirk's death was met with bipartisan condemnation from public officials, as top lawmakers on both sides of the aisle raised alarm about the rising tide in acts of violence against public officials.—
Alexandra Hutzler,
ABC News,
20 Sep. 2025
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Tomorrow, 2025’s summer season will be officially over—so let’s make the most of it with some amazing music and new albums from the industry’s brightest stars and some talented up-and-coming acts.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The domino effect of that move played out in the top of the ninth when Don Mattingly, the Dodgers’ acting manager, infamously was forced to make a bullpen change after making two trips to the mound.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
20 Sep. 2025
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In the years since, Irwin's been busy raising a family, protecting wildlife, and voice acting.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
20 Sep. 2025
Noun
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All this reintroduces the problem of arbitrary outcomes, in a different guise.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Unfortunately a recent deep fake has come in the guise of a friend.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Playacting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playacting. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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