as in pretense
a display of emotion or behavior that is insincere or intended to deceive
it was clear to her friends that her reaction to the news was pure playacting
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Recent Examples of playacting
Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 11 Sep. 2025
Noun
Hence the infamous playacting subplot in her 1814 novel Mansfield Park, a novel written when Austen was at her professional peak.
—Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 11 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for playacting
Noun
-
On the day of Lincoln’s election, the Wide Awakes patrolled polling places under the pretense of protecting democracy, while opponents viewed it as voter intimidation.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Authorities said the gun had been purchased under false pretenses in Indiana.—
Caroline Kubzansky,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
While discussing the delicate tone of the show and its balance of being a satire on the Hollywood movie business and a love letter to chasing your dream, Cretton said the creative team focused on character to find their way.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Apr. 2026
-
The entire show can be seen on Billboard’s YouTube channel, below.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Social media posts, showing Soleimani Afshar posing for glamour shots and photos of Hosseiny in a similar vein, were published by numerous news outlets.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
-
In 2012, Amazon sponsored the gala and the tech titan held the honorific, posing with the likes of Wintour, Miuccia Prada and Carey Mulligan.—
Rachel Tashjian,
CNN Money,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
While Metcalf’s Linda adopts a facade of stoicism to shield her family from the grief erupting in her, Abbott’s Biff is forced to reveal the broken man behind the defiant veneer.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The southern façade, for instance, is entirely solid—no windows, no openings—to shield the interior from the most brutal solar rays.—
Nick Mafi,
Architectural Digest,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Because good ex-etiquette isn’t about pretending the past didn’t happen.—
Jann Blackstone,
Boston Herald,
26 Apr. 2026
-
At this point, the NFL is not even pretending the draft is about the handful of prospects sitting in the green room.—
Dan Zaksheske OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Sculptor Maddy Inez, granddaughter of Betye Saar, crafts a series of ceramic vessels — each an ode to different plants brought over during the transatlantic slave trade — reframing gardening as an act of resistance.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
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The event features four days of live music with more than 100 musical acts and performances on seven stages, dancing and southern food along with cooking demos.—
Linda Mcintosh,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 May 2026
Verb
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With Sturm acting as the third forward high on the shift and Quinn Hughes busy breaking ankles all over the zone and reading perfectly off Brock Faber, McCarron won a puck battle with Heiskanen after Jake Oettinger couldn’t swallow a Faber shot 13 seconds before Foligno’s eventual goal.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
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Between Dua’s world tour and Callum’s acting gigs, the pair managed to squeeze in a sunny escape to the gorgeous Italian island last summer, with their adventures across the island going viral within minutes of them leaving each spot.—
Connor Sturges,
Condé Nast Traveler,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
However, her origin myth, in which she was hatched from an egg laid by her mother, Leda, who had been ravished by Zeus in the guise of a swan, is plainly invention.—
Gitanjali Roy,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
30 Apr. 2026
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This pliable guise is partially what makes his persona such a durable meme.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Playacting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playacting. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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