to play-act
6
6.1
- phrasal verb
- /ˈpleɪˌækt/
- The leaders of these countries are merely play-acting when they make speeches and denounce each other in public.
- a little play-acting
Examples
-
With such expert play-acting, you make this very room a theatre.
-
I'm too old for play-acting.
-
He was play-acting here, and he knew it.
Fiction book (1997) -
Some rapscallion, play-acting outside the door, calling to one of his mates.
Fiction book (1997) -
The pair loved to play-act famous battles from history, and one time they decided to reenact the Battle of Clontarf from the early 11th century.
Blog text (25) -
It's like he's play-acting.
-
The children love to play-act their favorite scenes from the movie during recess.
-
In drama class, students often play-act different emotions to improve their performances.
-
To help him understand the story better, the teacher asked the students to play-act the main characters.
Synonyms
∞
2.5
Behave in a way to trick or amuse someone
633
2.7
To entertain people by singing, acting, or dancing
280
2.1
To perform in a play or film
90
3.7
To play a character in a film or play
85
3.4
Pretend to have qualities or feelings you do not have
84
4.3
Made to look or act like the real thing for practice
55
3.8
Pretend something is real for fun or play
38
3.0
To act as a character in a play or as someone in a real situation
32
4.8
To act out a scene in front of people, like in a play
27
3.7
To perform a scene or feeling like a short play
4
3.9
Act as a character in a play or film
2
6.7
To pretend to be a person in a story on stage or with friends
1
5.2
Act in an exaggerated way that makes a performance feel unnatural
1
4.7
Act as a character in a play or drama
1
5.5
Copy someone's voice or actions to seem like them
1
6.4
Act in a simple, quiet way without showing too much emotion
1
9.9
Pretend to be another person to trick people or act in a role
Antonyms
How Dramatic
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Play-act comes from two simple words: play, meaning 'to pretend or have fun', and act, meaning 'to perform'. So to play-act is to pretend to be someone or perform a role, which is why we use it for practising scenes or acting out conversations.