as in theatrical
given to or marked by attention-getting behavior suggestive of stage acting
a hammy singer whose overwrought renditions of love songs just beg listeners to cry
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Recent Examples of hammy
There’s just enough harrowing sorrow, eye-popping oddity and acting — whether good or hammy, there’s undeniably a lot of it — to make for a transfixing watch.
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Alison Herman, Variety, 19 Mar. 2025
There’s nothing hammy or camp about the way the senior actors suddenly develop a predatory glean in the eye, inevitably preceding something awful coming out of their mouths.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 11 Mar. 2025
Every actor’s Hamlet is theirs and theirs alone, and Olivier’s is big and hammy and searing and often quite devastating.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025
More emotional scenes, however, feel hammy and didactic, heavy on the telling over the showing (and that telling hinges on being damn blunt about the whole thing, to boot).
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hammy
Alison Herman, Variety, 19 Mar. 2025
There’s nothing hammy or camp about the way the senior actors suddenly develop a predatory glean in the eye, inevitably preceding something awful coming out of their mouths.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 11 Mar. 2025
Every actor’s Hamlet is theirs and theirs alone, and Olivier’s is big and hammy and searing and often quite devastating.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025
More emotional scenes, however, feel hammy and didactic, heavy on the telling over the showing (and that telling hinges on being damn blunt about the whole thing, to boot).
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hammy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hammy
Adjective
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How to Train Your Dragon will likely arrive on Peacock around three to four months after its theatrical premiere in June 2025, putting the release date around September or October 2025.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
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But theatrical Leo parents may need reminding that rules and structure are essential in parenting too, says Brown.—
Kara Nesvig,
Parents,
15 July 2025
Adjective
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The Brewers' dramatic extra-innings win Wednesday sealed a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
11 July 2025
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Not for nothing either does Succession borrow a dramatic template—Shakespeare’s King Lear—that comes with immediate psychological stakes.—
Brittany Allen
July 10,
Literary Hub,
10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hammy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hammy. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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