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Recent Examples of overactSnook and Lacy, who display such sharp instincts in their best work, seem to have been directed to overact; cameras freeze on their exaggeratedly bewildered or angry or devastated expressions, putting exclamation points at the end of too many scenes.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
6 Nov. 2025 His presence is fresh, empathetic, often hypnotic, and never overacted.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
24 Oct. 2025 One could easily be accused of overacting, of doing too much.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
20 Feb. 2025 The college student performers from the Hartt School aren’t encouraged to overact during the party scene anymore — no more drunk jokes or pratfalls.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
11 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for overact
On the other hand, its artistic approach and wider story arc underplay the horror of WW1 combat.
—
Matt Gardner,
Forbes.com,
17 July 2026
In a lot of ways, Abrams’ underplay show at the storied club, billed as a free evening with the star, was more than just a celebration of her new album Daughter From Hell or practice for her upcoming tour.
Cienfuegos’ show is exceptionally well-acted by the entire cast, this being a company that holds its fictional characters close to the heart and is determined never to overplay in this intimate venue.
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Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Aug. 2026
In a corporate environment, leaders who overplay their hand can trigger resistance from peers, boards and other stakeholders.
Traditional Rocky Horror movie showings include a costumed cast acting out the events on screen, with bags of props handed out for audience participation during certain scenes.
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Anna Ortiz,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Aug. 2026
Garcia lends the whole song theater-kid interpretation, essentially acting out the lyrics in pantomime, grasping out in front of her, clutching her face.
But in a case of life imitating art, the show’s entire publicity strategy was inadvertently wrecked by a real-life aristocrat, after reports leaked that Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was being eyed for a role in the series.
—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
25 Aug. 2026
But from Ossoff, who cuts a more wholesome figure and doesn’t imitate the president, the attacks are more surprising—and therefore perhaps more effective.
The Trial of Louise Woodward will dramatize the story of Woodward, an 18-year-old British au pair who in 1997 was accused of shaking to death a baby who was left in her care by her host family in Massachusetts.
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Rick Porter,
HollywoodReporter,
30 July 2026
Two teenagers, aided by an arborist, climbed a 100-foot pine tree outside a Pasadena high school Saturday to dramatize a campaign to stop a soil remediation project calling for the removal of nearly 200 trees at several school campuses.
—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
19 July 2026
At the University of Mississippi, a video went viral of a Black woman surrounded by white students and the white students mimicking ape-like motions toward the woman and making monkey-like calls.
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Irene Wright,
USA Today,
28 Aug. 2026
Researchers have developed a six-legged robot that can learn to walk by mimicking a stick insect’s movement patterns.
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Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Aug. 2026