Link Centre Dictionary

histrionic

hist·rio·nic

UK/hɪstɹiːˈɒnɪk/ US/ˌhɪs.triˈɑ.nɪk/ uncommon

adjective

1.

characteristic of acting or a stage performance; often affected

  • “histrionic gestures”
  • “an attitude of melodramatic despair”
  • “a theatrical pose”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

Borrowed from Late Latin histriōnicus (“pertaining to acting; scurrilous, shameful; wretched”), from Latin histriōnicus (“pertaining to acting and the theatre”), from histriō (“actor, player”) + -icus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’). By surface analysis, histrion + -ic.

Phrases

  • histrionic personality disorder

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.