as in to pose
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Recent Examples of playact
Today, Margaret would be playacting her own massacre in active shooter drills at school.
—
Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 1 May 2023
Trump’s modus, as ever, was to playact; his game has always been improv.
—Joe Klein, Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2023
Trixie advises Alma to playact highness to flummox E.B.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2021
Today, this dynamic lives on in the form of Roblox strip clubs, where young people — mostly, minors — playact at adult sexuality.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 12 Sep. 2021
The world had first required her to playact as a man.
—Will Stephenson, Harper's Magazine, 15 Sep. 2020
Yona has it better than the locals who have agreed to playact, and likely die, in Mui’s fake new disaster.
—Madeline Leung Coleman, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2020
In a twist, The Sims is now a way to playact not just an alternate life, but any life at all.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 19 Apr. 2020
Cloud is almost childlike, a boy playacting at being a warrior and not always nailing the part.
—Julie Muncy, Wired, 10 Apr. 2020
Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 1 May 2023
Trump’s modus, as ever, was to playact; his game has always been improv.
—Joe Klein, Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2023
Trixie advises Alma to playact highness to flummox E.B.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2021
Today, this dynamic lives on in the form of Roblox strip clubs, where young people — mostly, minors — playact at adult sexuality.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 12 Sep. 2021
The world had first required her to playact as a man.
—Will Stephenson, Harper's Magazine, 15 Sep. 2020
Yona has it better than the locals who have agreed to playact, and likely die, in Mui’s fake new disaster.
—Madeline Leung Coleman, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2020
In a twist, The Sims is now a way to playact not just an alternate life, but any life at all.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 19 Apr. 2020
Cloud is almost childlike, a boy playacting at being a warrior and not always nailing the part.
—Julie Muncy, Wired, 10 Apr. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for playact
Verb
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The cast posed with their new award, joined by the show's producer — and Tori's father — Aaron Spelling.—
Alexandra Schonfeld,
People.com,
13 July 2025
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Alcaraz was out on Court 14 before the match kicking balls, signing autographs and posing for selfies with fans.—
Adam Zagoria,
Forbes.com,
13 July 2025
Verb
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Leads: Fuel With A Dashboard, Not a Fire Hose Handing someone 1,000 internet leads without a success rate is cruelty masquerading as generosity.—
Daniel Ramsey,
Forbes.com,
3 July 2025
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Incidents of impostors masquerading as law enforcement have compounded the situation, along with rumors — so far unverified — that federal authorities have enlisted bounty hunters or private security contractors for immigration arrests.—
Libor Jany,
Los Angeles Times,
3 July 2025
Verb
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The scams might start out with a text from someone pretending to be a government official, such as a local sheriff.—
Susan Tompor,
Freep.com,
10 July 2025
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Adams, who started as a center forward pretending to be former Arsenal, Barcelona and New York Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry, recalled taking his earliest steps in soccer in Wappinger.—
Adam Crafton,
New York Times,
10 July 2025
Verb
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Minnesota Vikings linebacker Dallas Turner received a call from someone impersonating himself to be a banker at JPMorgan Chase on Feb. 19, which led to the eventual bank heist.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
10 July 2025
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The most common scheme: impersonating public figures to promote fraudulent investments, which has already resulted in $401 million in losses.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
10 July 2025
Verb
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Yet court documents show White has only faced minor firearms charges in the shooting, and that Fremont police have investigated whether White acted in self-defense.—
Jakob Rodgers,
Mercury News,
11 July 2025
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Conservatives and libertarians rightly endorse robust private charitable activity so that private citizens, acting freely and without government direction, can ameliorate social problems through voluntary action.—
Henry Olsen,
National Review,
10 July 2025
Verb
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Meanwhile, Rita Wilson, who plays Jessica’s mother, Lois, has been married to Tom Hanks for more than three decades.—
Katie Mannion,
People.com,
14 July 2025
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Bullock, 60, and Kidman, 58, who played sisters Sally Owens and Gillian Owens in the original movie, are both returning.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
14 July 2025
Verb
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You’d like your government to tell you the truth, and the government dissembled repeatedly after the raid about what the rules of engagement were.—
Aryeh Neier,
The New York Review of Books,
3 Mar. 2025
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Pushing back on reporters, at the time Scher often dissembled and appeared to brush aside concerns about what was clearly an increasingly out-of-control situation.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
19 July 2024
Verb
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But that’s exactly what happened, as Musk posts and posts and posts on X. Musk is weaponizing Epstein – and Trump is feigning flabbergastaiton – because both know the president is vulnerable here now that his most fervent supporters and his most aggrieved detractors just don’t believe him.—
Chris Brennan,
USA Today,
11 July 2025
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When Naomi discovers that Nicholas, too, has been feigning contentment, the two of them go head-to-head in a battle of pranks, sabotage, and all-out emotional warfare.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
9 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Playact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playact. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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