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
That sort of living-document approach helps keep The Invite from coming off as overly stagy or stodgy.
—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
26 June 2026
The auteur can now cross another genre off his bucket list with The Samurai and the Prisoner (Kokurojo), a stately and rather stagy historical mystery set during the 16th century, at a time when warring clans fought and outmaneuvered each other for control of the land.
—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
24 May 2026
Some of his jabs seemed a bit forced and stagy.
—
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
Sure, there’s something stagy in summing up Hart’s life via an increasingly drunken evening celebrating the premiere of his former creative partner Richard Rodgers’s (Andrew Scott) musical Oklahoma!, which will go on to be hugely successful and beloved, but which Hart can’t stand.
—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
And even though there are stretches of stagey-sounding expository dialogue, the story manages to wheel along at a clip.
—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
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
Here was elegance without exaggeration, tension and beauty without stagy excess.
—
James Shapiro,
The New York Review of Books,
3 Jan. 2025
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
26 June 2026
The auteur can now cross another genre off his bucket list with The Samurai and the Prisoner (Kokurojo), a stately and rather stagy historical mystery set during the 16th century, at a time when warring clans fought and outmaneuvered each other for control of the land.
—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
24 May 2026
Some of his jabs seemed a bit forced and stagy.
—
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
Sure, there’s something stagy in summing up Hart’s life via an increasingly drunken evening celebrating the premiere of his former creative partner Richard Rodgers’s (Andrew Scott) musical Oklahoma!, which will go on to be hugely successful and beloved, but which Hart can’t stand.
—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
And even though there are stretches of stagey-sounding expository dialogue, the story manages to wheel along at a clip.
—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
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
Here was elegance without exaggeration, tension and beauty without stagy excess.
—
James Shapiro,
The New York Review of Books,
3 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stagy
Adjective
-
Obsession was released on digital streaming via premium video on demand on Tuesday following a 45-day theatrical window.
-
From wall to wall, the round of 32 became a long, theatrical rush.
Adjective
-
After so many dramatic and 11th-hour wins in the Round of 32, the World Cup's Round of 16 has much to live up to.
-
Such has been such a dramatic overhaul in the conference that the Heat at one moment can be viewed as contenders for the NBA Finals and at another the perception quite reasonably can be … right back in the play-in pool.
Adjective
-
The album covers hardstyle, new age pop, and operatic folk at a sometimes startling pace, capturing the chaos and ecstasy of one of the most physically and emotionally transformative experiences the human body can endure.
-
Equally impressive are its songs, including one that’s movingly operatic.
Cite this Entry
“Stagy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stagy. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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