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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for playacting
Noun
-
The Trump Administration has significantly weakened America's national security infrastructure under the false pretense of government efficiency, by reducing staffing at the Departments of Defense and State, FBI, CIA, USAID, and others despite increasing global threats.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
TIME,
24 Mar. 2025 -
The Trump administration’s harrowing detention of Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil — and the broader repression of student activism on campuses across the country — is being sold to the public under the false pretense of ensuring Jewish safety.—
Adam Jaffe,
New York Daily News,
18 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
The Oscar winner — who both wrote and stars in the stage adaptation of the 2005 movie Good Night, and Good Luck — celebrated the official Broadway opening of the show at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City on Thursday, April 3, without his wife.—
Dave Quinn,
People.com,
4 Apr. 2025
-
The White Lotus Season 3 finale is this weekend and one character will not make it out of the show alive.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Wind chills in this region could reach 20 degrees, posing a significant threat to people and property.—
Kevin Lynn,
Newsweek,
8 Jan. 2025
-
Wind chills in this region could reach 20 degrees, posing a significant threat to people and property.—
Kevin Lynn,
Newsweek,
8 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Once it's completed, the removable floors, roof and detachable facades reveal this Marvel tribute in all its glory, for all to admire.—
Paul Brett,
Space.com,
4 Apr. 2025
-
But disaffected ex-employees said the company’s facade of liberation hid something cultish.—
Devlin Barrett,
New York Times,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
While maintaining a quirky and mysterious air, the show yields questions like, is a cult real if its creators are pretending but its followers aren’t?—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
24 Dec. 2024
-
June Squibb plays the titular Thelma, who gets taken in by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson Danny (Fred Hechinger) to the tune of $10,000.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
23 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
By the 1870s, the filibuster had become both a fixture of the political process and a noun — though it was initially applied to the person who gave the speeches, rather than the act of speaking itself, Merriam-Webster says.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
4 Apr. 2025
-
Writing it, one senses, was a high-wire act over an abyss of pain, agitation, uncertainty, and the dread of being ignored or misunderstood.—
Leslie Camhi,
New Yorker,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country’s entire airplane operation, including checks of all Boeing 737-800s.—
Conor Murray,
Forbes,
31 Dec. 2024
-
Those officials could be then tapped for acting positions.—
Melissa Quinn,
CBS News,
31 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
And in its current guise, the RS E-Tron GT Performance delivers.—
Bryan Hood,
Robb Report,
2 Apr. 2025
-
After almost a decade out of the game, cult smartwatch brand Pebble has returned with a duo of watches, and under a new brand guise, Core Devices.—
Andrew Williams,
Forbes,
18 Mar. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Playacting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playacting. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share