melodrama
35
6.3
- noun
- /ˈmɛləˌdrɑːmə/
:
melodrama
- The play was a classic melodrama, filled with exaggerated emotions and dramatic twists.
- nineteenth-century melodrama
- a revolutionary melodrama
- function of melodrama
They're addicted to melodrama and to fiction because they are living in fictional worlds.
- They're addicted to melodrama and to fiction because they are living in fictional worlds.
Examples
-
In spite of its claim to innovation, Making Love was a conventional melodrama and ultimately quite dull.
Academic text (2012) -
Under the category of fiction are included telenovelas, televised and non-televised melodramas, and serial and non-serial TV melodramas.
Academic text (1992) -
- That melodrama, I just loved it.
-
As a writer, it would do you well to avoid melodrama in your work.
-
Something out of an old melodrama.
-
Someone brought that woman here and staged this melodrama.
-
What sort of melodrama could be brewing back there?
-
Do you actually suppose this exhibition of childlike melodrama is advancing the cause of freedom?
Fiction book (1993) -
During its first two seasons, the teen melodrama Gossip Girl, for example, was popular among young female remixers.
Academic text (2013) -
Typically, these melodramas hook viewers at the outset with villains' heinous crimes against innocents.
Academic text (2017)
Synonyms
488
2.5
A situation full of strong feelings and excitement
A style that uses exaggerated emotions and actions in plays or films
A very dramatic situation that feels unreal and not serious
How Dramatic
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Melodrama comes from the parts melody (from a word that means 'song') and drama ('action' or 'play'). It first named a play that used music to make feelings louder, so today melodrama describes a story or play with very strong, over-the-top emotions.