Thesaurus results for PLAYACT

playact

verb

Definition of playact

as in to pose

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of playact Today, Margaret would be playacting her own massacre in active shooter drills at school. — Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 1 May 2023 Trump’s modus, as ever, was to playact; his game has always been improv. — Joe Klein, Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2023 Today, this dynamic lives on in the form of Roblox strip clubs, where young people — mostly, minors — playact at adult sexuality. — Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 12 Sep. 2021 Yona has it better than the locals who have agreed to playact, and likely die, in Mui’s fake new disaster. — Madeline Leung Coleman, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2020 In a twist, The Sims is now a way to playact not just an alternate life, but any life at all. — Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 19 Apr. 2020 Cloud is almost childlike, a boy playacting at being a warrior and not always nailing the part. — Julie Muncy, Wired, 10 Apr. 2020

Recent Examples of Synonyms for playact

Verb

The Houthis have repeatedly attacked airports and oil infrastructure across the kingdom with drones and missiles that can change direction during flight, posing a challenge to interceptors.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
Bristol officials say that comprehensive traffic studies have identified over 35 high-crash intersections across the city that pose immediate danger to drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.

— Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of pose

Verb

Official outlets can quote from posts on fake accounts whose creators masquerade as ordinary members of the public, making a fringe claim seem normal.

— RENÉE DIRESTA, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2026
The action-drama is a road show that primarily films on location and often features rural settings, so the move to California provides new landscapes to masquerade as other locales.

— Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of masquerade

Verb

Lee ingratiates himself by pretending to be interested in becoming a CO himself — attracted to the manliness and the glamor.

— Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
In a news release, police said that 25-year-old Baldwin Park resident Juan Carlos Amaya contacted the teenage girl via Snapchat and began talking to her while pretending to be 17 years old.

— Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of pretend

Verb

Last year, the AI startup removed chatbots that impersonated popular Disney characters such as Elsa and Darth Vader after the Burbank entertainment behemoth sent a cease-and-desist letter.

— Queenie Wong, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
The message can create an immediate fear that someone is impersonating you online.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of impersonate

Verb

The American Civil Liberties Union sued in February, alleging officers hurled racial epithets, acted violently, and largely withheld food, water, bathrooms and medical care.

— Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 19 Oct. 2026
Documents detailing meetings in April and August between the government, the WHO and other health partners, reviewed by Reuters and not previously reported, show how efforts to act fast may have led to shortcomings.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of act

Verb

Footwear also took a distinctly feminine direction this season, with embellishment playing a major role.

— Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026
This was apparent recently when a judge in Louisiana ruled that players who signed NFL contracts over the summer could return to play their fifth college season at LSU.

— Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of play

Verb

Instead, whole grains and foods are dissembled into molecules which, with the help of artificial colorings, flavorings and gluelike emulsifiers, are heated, pounded, shaped or extruded into any food a manufacturer can dream up.

— Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 29 Apr. 2026
When McKenzie asks him how much he’s contributed to the coffers of politicians, his dodging of the question is pure dissembling theater.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 20 Apr. 2026

Definition of dissemble

Verb

Macca shot back as Poehler feigned ignorance and let out a laugh.

— Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2026
Linney’s Guardian tries to draw out some resentment from her new candidate, but John expresses (or feigns) sympathy for Hal, who was betrayed by his father figure Sinestro, an experience John likens to his own complicated upbringing.

— Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of feign

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“Playact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playact. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of playact

verb

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