as in to pose
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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
Trixie advises Alma to playact highness to flummox E.B.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2021
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
The world had first required her to playact as a man.
—Will Stephenson, Harper's Magazine, 15 Sep. 2020
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
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
Trixie advises Alma to playact highness to flummox E.B.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2021
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
The world had first required her to playact as a man.
—Will Stephenson, Harper's Magazine, 15 Sep. 2020
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
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However, the rising demand for financial aid and the decline in international applications pose significant challenges.—
Scott White,
Forbes,
15 Mar. 2025
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Habitat disturbances, including tourism, fertilizer collection, and limestone mining, pose significant threats to its survival, which is why it is listed as ‘near threatened‘ on International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The bulletin issued by Ukraine's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-UA) on March 18 indicates that attacks started this month, with Signal messages containing links to archived messages, masquerading as meeting reports.—
Joanne Stocker,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2025
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The second letter contained more personal information which would enable the recipient to masquerade as a friend of Angela’s, Gatchis said.—
Andi Babineau and Ray Sanchez,
CNN,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Read: America is done pretending about meat All of this social-media attention has been translating into people’s actual eating habits, Victoria Fitzgerald, who oversees Whole Foods Market’s meat merchandising, told me.—
Valerie Trapp,
The Atlantic,
17 Apr. 2025
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The crowd cheered, but Rema was clearly lip-synching and not trying hard to pretend otherwise, pulling the mic away from his mouth while the recording of his voice continued.—
Jem Aswad,
Variety,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Often these scams will impersonate a retailer or shipping company to fool the victim.—
James Peckham,
PC Magazine,
17 Apr. 2025
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Since its inception, Saturday Night Live has been impersonating public figures, from reality TV stars to movie stars to politicians and every profession in between.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
People.com,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Alongside Fallon, Saint John will act as the On Brand Agency's Chief Marketing Officer.—
Esther Kang,
People.com,
17 Apr. 2025
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How to act during strong winds Take shelter: Immediately go inside a sturdy building during a high wind warning or severe thunderstorm warning and move to an interior room or basement.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Whitaker is played by Gerran Howell, who carried the title role on the CBBC's Young Dracula (2006–2014) before appearing on NBC's Emerald City (2017) and Hulu's adaptation of Joseph Heller's Catch-22 (2019).—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
11 Apr. 2025
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The trio finished with a 4-1 lead in shots and 10 hits between them while playing predominantly against the Stars’ second and fourth lines.—
Murat Ates,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The Kill or Capture Presidency You’d like your government to tell you the truth, and the government dissembled repeatedly after the raid about what the rules of engagement were.—
Aryeh Neier,
The New York Review of Books,
3 Mar. 2025
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Think about it like dissembling something and then putting it together in a fresh way!—
Quora,
Forbes,
7 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Jenna Bush Hager Says Daughter Mila Got 'Overwhelmed' by Secret Service Spending Time with First Lady Laura Bush Guthrie's carousel also featured a picture of the girls at the end of the party, posing on a red truck while Mila feigned a yawn.—
Hannah Sacks,
People.com,
13 Apr. 2025
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Putin is not feigning peace to stay on Trump’s good side merely to gobble up more Ukrainian territory.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Playact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playact. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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