variants
or less commonly roleplay
role-played also roleplayed; role-playing also roleplaying; role-plays also roleplays
1
: to act out the role of
2
: to represent in action
students were asked to role-play the thoughts and feelings of each character—
R. G. Lambert
R. G. Lambert
: to play a role
role-play
noun
or less commonly roleplay
plural role-plays also roleplays
I practice this with student social workers through case studies and role-play.
—Kevin Brazant, quoted in psychologytoday.com
Kevin Brazant, quoted in psychologytoday.com
Examples of role-play in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Torres claimed at the time that the messages were part of a fantasy role-play that was then exploited by the Chicago man.
—Robert Salonga, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2025
Parish sees Metroid and The Legend of Zelda, which was also released in 1986 for the Famicom, as forks in the road of the role-playing game genre.
—Lewis Gordon, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
Across the vast history of role-playing games, few studios have managed to be as influential as Obsidian Entertainment.
—Hayes Madsen, Rolling Stone, 14 Feb. 2025
Companion characters, an element that can make or break role-playing games, fail to make much of an impression and, even as their individual struggles are introduced, feel overwhelmingly concerned with educating your character — who, again, is frustratingly narrow in their expression.
—Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for role-play
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Robert Salonga, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2025
Parish sees Metroid and The Legend of Zelda, which was also released in 1986 for the Famicom, as forks in the road of the role-playing game genre.
—Lewis Gordon, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
Across the vast history of role-playing games, few studios have managed to be as influential as Obsidian Entertainment.
—Hayes Madsen, Rolling Stone, 14 Feb. 2025
Companion characters, an element that can make or break role-playing games, fail to make much of an impression and, even as their individual struggles are introduced, feel overwhelmingly concerned with educating your character — who, again, is frustratingly narrow in their expression.
—Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for role-play
Cite this Entry
“Role-play.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/role-play. Accessed 8 Mar. 2025.
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