Crossword clues for melodramatic
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Dramatic \Dra*mat"ic\ (dr[.a]*m[a^]t"[i^]k), Dramatical \Dra*mat"ic*al\ (dr[.a]*m[a^]t"[i^]*kal), a. [Gr. dramatiko`s, fr. dra^ma: cf. F. dramatique.] Of or pertaining to the drama; as, dramatic arts. [WordNet sense 3]
2. suitable to or characteristic of or having the qualities of, a drama; theatrical; as, a dramatic entrance in a swirling cape; a dramatic rescue at sea. Opposite of undramatic. [WordNet sense 1] [Narrower terms: melodramatic; awe-inspiring, spectacular]
The emperor . . . performed his part with much
dramatic effect.
--Motley.
3. striking in appearance or effect; vivid; having a thrilling effect; as, a dramatic sunset; a dramatic pause.
Syn: spectacular, striking.
4. (Music) marked by power and expressiveness and a histrionic or theatrical style; -- of a singer or singing voice; as, a dramatic tenor; a dramatic soprano. Contrasted to lyric. [WordNet sense 4]
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1776; from foreign source of melodrama on model of dramatic. Related: Melodramatically.
Wiktionary
a. 1 Of or pertaining to melodrama; like or suitable to a melodrama; unnatural in situation or action. 2 Exaggeratedly emotional or sentimental.
WordNet
adj. having the excitement and emotional appeal of melodrama; "a melodramatic account of two perilous days at sea"
characteristic of acting or a stage performance; often affected; "histrionic gestures"; "an attitude of melodramatic despair"; "a theatrical pose" [syn: histrionic]
Usage examples of "melodramatic".
The General was inclined to be explosive and melodramatic, and the German bankers to make a poor mouth about it, but Loeffler was as steadfast as a rock.
I think: that his language is ostentatious, his tone cornball and melodramatic, his selection of facts preposterously self-serving.
Seen in retrospect, her evening with Gordon Longford appeared neither so glamorous in the early hours, nor so melodramatic in the latter part as it had seemed to her on her return home.
Someone might have thought the gesture melodramatic or even clownish, but he preferred it to any words.
But that seemed illogical, for there was the fact of the suicide note and the overdose of barbituates Salsbury had taken before throwing himself in the river in his melodramatic method of ending it all.
Giles and Brittles were put through a melodramatic representation of their share in the previous night's adventures: which they performed some six times over: contradiction each other, in not more than one important respect, the first time, and in not more than a dozen the last.
Giles and Brittles were put through a melodramatic representation of their share in the previous night's adventures.
I thumbed through several examples, most of them lurid and melodramatic, appealing to gullible natures, and found stories of ghosts, poltergeists, clairvoyancy, mysterious disappearances.
In contrast, the painting was rich in garish pigments, gold leaf and alizarin crimson, the human figures it depicted caught in exaggerated, melodramatic at.
When Gruver and Bertha Fleishman had followed him inside, he closed the door and, with a melodramatic touch, locked it.
I had always disparaged Hollywood horse operas for being overly melodramatic when, during the Indian attack, the hero runs out of ammunition save for a single cartridge each for himself and the heroine.
In a voice that tried not to be waspish, Major Humphreys called back: "Don't be melodramatic, Paul.
In Victorian and melodramatic terms, Milicent no longer had a granddaughter.
To make matters worse, Charlotte had had the unmitigated nerve to inform him that the explanation for his behavior could be found in Byron's overheated, melodramatic poetry.
He strode on, a melodramatic actor in his dotage parodying a blind man's walk.