to play-act
2
6.1
- phrasal verb
- /ˈpleɪˌækt/
:
fingir
- 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
583
2.7
To entertain people by singing, acting, or dancing
266
2.1
To perform in a play or film
193
3.9
Act as a character in a play or film
118
3.7
To play a character in a film or play
36
3.0
To act as a character in a play or as someone in a real situation
27
4.8
To act out a scene in front of people, like in a play
25
3.4
Pretend to have qualities or feelings you do not have
25
4.3
Made to look or act like the real thing for practice
24
3.7
To perform a scene or feeling like a short play
22
5.5
Copy someone's voice or actions to seem like them
17
3.8
Pretend something is real for fun or play
5
5.2
Act in an exaggerated way that makes a performance feel unnatural
2
6.7
To pretend to be a person in a story on stage or with friends
2
4.7
Act as a character in a play or drama
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.