Histrionic Meaning
/hɪstɹiːˈɒnɪk/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjOf or relating to actors or acting.
adjExcessively dramatic or emotional, especially with the intention to draw attention.
Sentence Examples
He became histrionic upon hearing the news.
No need to get all histrionic. You're not on a soap opera.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her ____ behavior on stage made the audience laugh.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Her ____ behavior at the party made everyone feel quite uncomfortable.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Late Latin histriōnicus (“pertaining to acting; scurrilous, shameful; wretched”), from Latin histriōnicus (“pertaining to acting and the theatre”), from histriō (“actor, player”) + -icus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’). By surface analysis, histrion + -ic.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"After three years of constant applause, Miss [Elizabeth] O'Neill directed her steps towards the summit of histrionick exertion, being engaged for the season of 1814 at Covent Garden, where she made her first entrée as Juliet, on the 6th of October, being at once recognised as the first Hibernian actress, who had joined transcendant beauty with rare histrionick talent, since the time of Mrs. [Peg] Woffington."
— 1816 July, “Miss O’Neill. [From an English magazine.]”, in The North American Review and Miscellaneous Journal, volume III, number VIII, Boston, Mass.: Wells and Lilly […], →OCLC, page 164:
"On Saturday, Miss F. H. Kelly played Belvidera for the first time, to a crowded House, and for her own benefit;—for her own benefit in every way, for the performance added a wreath to her histrionic laurels, and drew down the warmest testimonies of applause."
— 1823 June 14, “The Drama, etc.”, in The Literary Gazette; and Journal of the Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences, &c., number 334, London: Printed by B. Bensley, […]; published for the proprietors, at the Literary Gazette office, […], →OCLC, page 381, column 3:
"[T]hey might have been figures rehearsing some play of which she herself was the author; they might even, for the happy appearance they continued to present, have been such figures as would by the strong note of character in each fill any author with the certitude of success, especially of their own histrionic."
— 1904, Henry James, The Golden Bowl:
"[…] Miss Phyllis Morgan, as the hapless heroine dressed in the shabbiest of clothes, appears in the midst of a gay and giddy throng; she apostrophises all and sundry there, including the villain, and has a magnificent scene which always brings down the house, and nightly adds to her histrionic laurels."
— 1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Affair at the Novelty Theatre”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, →OCLC; republished in The Old Man in the Corner: Twelve Mysteries, Kelly Bray, Cornwall: House of Stratus, 2008, →ISBN, →OL, chapter 2, page 207:
"[F]oppiſh airs / And hiſtrionic mumm'ry, that let down / The pulpit to the level of the ſtage, / Drops from the lips a diſregarded thing."
— 1785, William Cowper, “Book II. The Time-piece.”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], →OCLC, page 74:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her ____ behavior on stage made the audience laugh.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Her ____ behavior at the party made everyone feel quite uncomfortable.