theatrical

1 of 2

adjective

the·​at·​ri·​cal thē-ˈa-tri-kəl How to pronounce theatrical (audio)
variants or less commonly theatric
1
a
: of or relating to the theater or the presentation of plays
a theatrical costume
a theatrical troupe
a powerful theatrical performance
b
: of, relating to, or occurring in a movie theater
the theatrical release of a new film
"Give Me Liberty," the Milwaukee-made movie that received good notices at this year's Sundance Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival, will come home for its U.S. theatrical premiere, Aug. 22 at the Oriental Theatre.Chris Foran
2
: having qualities suggestive of a stage play or of an actor's performance : deliberately or exaggeratedly dramatic or emotional : histrionic
a theatrical gesture
a theatrical way of speaking
… pulls an enormous handkerchief from the inside breast pocket of his jacket and opens it with a theatrical flourish …Robert Little
theatricalism noun
theatricality noun
theatrically adverb

theatrical

2 of 2

noun

1
theatricals plural
a
: the performance of plays
b
2
British : a professional actor
3
theatricals plural : showy or extravagant gestures
Choose the Right Synonym for theatrical

dramatic, theatrical, histrionic, melodramatic mean having a character or an effect like that of acted plays.

dramatic applies to situations in life and literature that stir the imagination and emotions deeply.

a dramatic meeting of world leaders

theatrical implies a crude appeal through artificiality or exaggeration in gesture or vocal expression.

a theatrical oration

histrionic applies to tones, gestures, and motions and suggests a deliberate affectation or staginess.

a histrionic show of grief

melodramatic suggests an exaggerated emotionalism or an inappropriate theatricalism.

made a melodramatic plea

Examples of theatrical in a Sentence

Adjective a politician who has a highly theatrical manner of speaking after stepping out of their hired limousine, the prom couple made a theatrical entrance in their evening clothes
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The character also wasn’t featured on the theatrical poster. Kimberly Nordyke, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Mar. 2024 Overall, however, the domestic theatrical business continues to remain sluggish. Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024 Instead, organizers will turn the River Seine, which flows through the heart of Paris, into a theatrical stage, one on which a four-mile-long flotilla of nearly 100 boats will carry thousands of athletes from more than 200 countries past hundreds of thousands of spectators. Brent Lang, Variety, 22 Mar. 2024 How we are introduced to them, and the central conflict, is typical of the production’s theatrical intelligence. Jesse Green, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024 The film, written and directed by Douglas McGrath, made $22 million in its theatrical run and received nominations for Best Costume Design and Best Music at the 69th Oscars ceremony in 1997. Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 21 Mar. 2024 In the world of theatrical arts, Ashley’s creativity and dedication shine brightly. Heide Janssen, Orange County Register, 17 Mar. 2024 Before gaining international attention for Squid Game, Oh enjoyed decades of success as an actor in South Korea, earning particular renown for his theatrical work. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2024 Later, it was taken off the theatrical release schedule completely. Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2024
Noun
The 2024 movie musical will stream on Paramount+ beginning March 5, following its January theatrical release. Caroline Brew, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024 Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie has taken the world by storm since its July 21 theatrical release, grossing over $1.38 billion at the global box office. Jessica Wang, EW.com, 4 Dec. 2023 Shift from the botanical to the theatrical at ASU Gammage, the city’s premier venue for the performing arts. Sunset Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023 In a new strategic partnership that Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav helped shepherd, Cruise will team with movie studio chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy in jointly developing and producing original and franchise theatrical films starring the world-famous actor. Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Jan. 2024 And Chinese titles have come to dominate the country’s own theatrical and streaming markets to such a point that the long-standing import quotas may have fallen into abeyance. Patrick Frater, Variety, 3 Jan. 2024 However, Majors was quickly dropped by both his management and publicist teams in the wake of the accusations, and Searchlight Pictures indefinitely postponed Magazine Dreams’ December theatrical release. Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 18 Dec. 2023 Killers of the Flower Moon After its October theatrical release, Killers of the Flower Moon is now available to rent on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV. Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 18 Dec. 2023 The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers had previously warned the actors union that if a deal could not be reached by the end of this week, the networks would have to cancel certain TV shows and there would be further delays in 2024 summer theatrical releases. Gene Maddaus, Variety, 3 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'theatrical.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1558, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

circa 1683, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of theatrical was in 1558

Dictionary Entries Near theatrical

Cite this Entry

“Theatrical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theatrical. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

theatrical

adjective
the·​at·​ri·​cal
thē-ˈa-tri-kəl
1
: of or relating to the theater
a theatrical costume
2
: marked by pretended or excessive emotion
a theatrical speech
theatrically
-k(ə-)lē
adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on theatrical

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!