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.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for playacting
Noun
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This week’s truncating of the schedule removed whatever pretense remained that Kennedy’s HHS would respect the scientific process for making decisions about vaccines even when that process was dominated by allies who had already taken action to roll back recommendations.—
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But gone are the days when those books were displayed to show off the intellect and interests of their owners — and with it, the pretense, at least, that their owners had read them.—
Noun
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The famed illusionists, best known for their Las Vegas show at the Mirage Resort and Casino, first met while working on a cruise ship in 1957.—
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The show will star Rachel Bloom and comedian Rory Scovel as the central couple, Bloom's Rosie and Scovel's Alex Zilbalodis.—
Verb
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Chicago showed off her sweet smile while posing for a photo with her mom and sister.—
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She was spotted smiling and posing with her children Harper, Emerson, and Beckett.—
Noun
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As for the space itself, Cartier is honoring the building’s history by highlighting the Royal Poinciana’s original façade, a Regency Revival design by architect John Volk (which in 2008 was declared historic by Palm Beach’s Landmark Preservation Commission).—
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Google Cloud is advertising its own event aimed at helping Chinese firms expand globally, with a rare building-sized poster on the facade of a hotel overlooking downtown Beijing’s main thoroughfare.—
Verb
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Parents reported that their children loved playing with the original Nékojita FuFu, pretending to fan their faces and blow-dry their hair.—
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How naïve must Trump be to believe that Putin cares about Ukraine’s well-being after invading it, killing thousands of its people, kidnapping tens of thousands of Ukrainian children back to Russia, and continuing to bomb civilian apartment buildings while pretending to negotiate a peace deal?—
Noun
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The prosecutor's office said a 16-year-old boy from Sayreville was arrested and charged with acts of juvenile delinquency which if committed by an adult would constitute murder, weapons charges and armed riot.—
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And when unlawful acts are committed, hold individuals accountable.—
Verb
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Culkin was just four years old when his acting career began.—
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In 2026, Elordi snagged two acting nominations at the Golden Globes, including Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his role in Frankenstein.—
Noun
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The Skechers shoes boast a low-profile silhouette, plus a slip-on design despite their lace-up guise.—
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Approved by The Boss himself, the live-music and storytelling show finds Azaria slipping into his best Springsteen guise for a night of gruff tales and greatest hits.—
Cite this Entry
“Playacting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playacting. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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