How to Use role-play in a Sentence

role-play

verb
  • Fans were allowed to board the school bus and role-play life on the road.
    — Suzy Exposito, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2023
  • The role-playing game of the same name follows a young hunter called Aloy.
    — Amy MacKelden, ELLE, 31 Mar. 2023
  • Buy one get one 50% off Disney princess dress up/role-play items.
    — Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 28 Nov. 2024
  • The game scrubs away a lot of the rules that can make getting into role-playing games a challenge.
    — Rob Wieland, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2023
  • Gamers play games for all sorts of reasons: to role-play, to challenge themselves, to kill time with friends.
    — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 25 Apr. 2025
  • Side Quest often hosts role-playing game events and book clubs.
    — Steph Solis, Axios, 6 Feb. 2025
  • The play is a mix of comedy and tragedy set against the world of fantasy role-playing games.
    — Annie Alleman, Chicago Tribune, 24 July 2023
  • The format for the finals was a mock-up of World of Warcraft, an online role-playing game.
    — Mikayla Whitmore, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2025
  • Staffers and volunteers role-play as cowboys and camp cooks.
    — Jim Robbins, Travel + Leisure, 16 Mar. 2025
  • But getting the bot to understand the back-and-forth necessary to role-play combat took a lot of work.
    — Ethan Gilsdorf, WIRED, 27 June 2023
  • Now, Titmouse is looking to bring its own spin on the classic role-playing game.
    — Rob Wieland, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
  • As this is set in the role-playing world of Dungeons and Dragons, Edgin inevitably needs a team.
    — Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 29 Mar. 2023
  • But the world of a role-playing game must be summoned over and over by the force of collective intention.
    — Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 30 Dec. 2024
  • Nowhere is this question more relevant than in the role-playing game genre.
    — Alan Bradley, ArsTechnica, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Timed to the 50th anniversary of the role-playing game, the USPS put out a set of commemorative stamps.
    — Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Dec. 2024
  • In contrast to role-play videos, this category captures ASMR out in the wild.
    — Eliza Brooke, New York Times, 4 July 2023
  • The 2017 action role-playing game casts players as Aloy, a young hunter in a world overrun by machines.
    — Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025
  • Torres claimed at the time that the messages were part of a fantasy role-play that was then exploited by the Chicago man.
    — Robert Salonga, The Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2025
  • Torres claimed at the time that the messages were part of a fantasy role-play that was then exploited by the Chicago man.
    — Robert Salonga, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2025
  • My more imaginative friends would role-play as their characters, act out the scenes and do the voices.
    — Ally Beardsley, Washington Post, 31 July 2024
  • The twist here is that it’s being seen through the lens of a Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game campaign, which makes sense for a play with a flash of magic in it.
    — Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 29 May 2025
  • Last week, Baidoo sat across from a fellow student and role-played a mental health counselor meeting a patient for the first time.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Aug. 2023
  • With the toy, toddlers can role-play and help Bean change into underwear, wash hands, and use a mini potty.
    — Anna Halkidis, Parents, 7 Jan. 2025
  • Hasbro, which owns the role-playing game Dungeon & Dragons, rose 2%.
    — CBS News, 29 Nov. 2024
  • In the first new universe in over 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, this generation role-playing game will have you among the stars.
    — Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 1 Sep. 2023
  • And what is more comfortable than eschewing one’s own taste to role-play like a Pinterest board collaged with style stars of the past?
    — Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025
  • At the same time, makeup can be fun for role-playing dress-up, required for stage performances, and just a form of expression.
    — Rich Scherr, Parents, 9 Jan. 2024
  • Pokémon has been a global hit since it was launched as a role-playing game in 1996 for Nintendo’s Game Boy console.
    — Chris Morris, Fortune Asia, 19 Sep. 2024
  • Children play elaborate make-believe games with their toys and role-playing games with their peers.
    — Andrew Shtulman, WSJ, 1 Dec. 2023
  • Perkins and Crawford, who led the Dungeons & Dragons design team for decades, have literally helped write the books on the most popular role-playing game in history.
    — Jevon Phillips, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'role-play.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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