variants
or stagey
1
as in theatrical
given to or marked by attention-getting behavior suggestive of stage acting
a motivational speaker whose stagy presentations motivate some listeners to head for the nearest exit
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dramatic
having the general quality or effect of a stage performance
the president's and the prime minister's public display of mutual admiration was a little too stagy to be convincing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stagy
Ferrell just isn’t right for this part: The role is too stagy, too wordy for him, and his style of comedy is just too modern and deconstructionist to handle the Borscht Belt punning of Mel Brooks.
—
Tim Grierson, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
Here was elegance without exaggeration, tension and beauty without stagy excess.
—James Shapiro, The New York Review of Books, 3 Jan. 2025
This framing device, which has the clunky air of a middlebrow play, provides a convenient if stagy way of breaking down his biography into manageable parts.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024
Advertisement Gwen Grastorf’s embodiment of the scheming goody-goody Arsinoë is a tad stagy, but the character is still a fine foil for the quick-witted Célimène.
—Celia Wren, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
The fact that the film was made inexpensively, though not a vice in and of itself, is not especially compensated for by Joe Collins’ cinematography, which renders Heffernan’s compositions flat, stagy and small.
—Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 17 Apr. 2023
The stagy devices give the impression of notions that may have seemed like brainstorms in rehearsal but in performance feel overly artificial.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2023
Its weapon is maximalism: with velvet tuxedos, stagy service and a love for all the props and paraphernalia of midcentury American dining.
—Pete Wells, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2023
All good but drifting into stagy with a tad too much branding.
—Freep.com, 8 May 2020
Tim Grierson, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
Here was elegance without exaggeration, tension and beauty without stagy excess.
—James Shapiro, The New York Review of Books, 3 Jan. 2025
This framing device, which has the clunky air of a middlebrow play, provides a convenient if stagy way of breaking down his biography into manageable parts.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024
Advertisement Gwen Grastorf’s embodiment of the scheming goody-goody Arsinoë is a tad stagy, but the character is still a fine foil for the quick-witted Célimène.
—Celia Wren, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
The fact that the film was made inexpensively, though not a vice in and of itself, is not especially compensated for by Joe Collins’ cinematography, which renders Heffernan’s compositions flat, stagy and small.
—Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 17 Apr. 2023
The stagy devices give the impression of notions that may have seemed like brainstorms in rehearsal but in performance feel overly artificial.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2023
Its weapon is maximalism: with velvet tuxedos, stagy service and a love for all the props and paraphernalia of midcentury American dining.
—Pete Wells, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2023
All good but drifting into stagy with a tad too much branding.
—Freep.com, 8 May 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stagy
Adjective
-
The film started out as a planned Disney+ exclusive, then was slated for a theatrical release, but was ultimately a Disney+ original in 2023.—
James Mercadante,
EW.com,
30 Mar. 2025
-
The new agreement also includes a theatrical release component.—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
29 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Given Trump’s order, the release of all this information sounded dramatic, but much of what has been revealed is about as interesting as that driver’s-license detail.—
Kaitlyn Tiffany,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 2025
-
Former Reba co-stars Melissa Peterman (as Gabby, the needy and dramatic bartender) and Reba McEntire already have proven chemistry, and any scene between the two is a lightning rod for plenty of chuckles.—
Marc Berman,
Forbes,
22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
More than once, Mariana emits an exasperated scream that goes on and on and on, almost like an operatic aria.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
19 Mar. 2025
-
Luckily, McDonald’s operatic soprano does much of that bridging work, connecting her Rose not to the bright trumpet hotcha of vaudeville but to the mad arias of Lucia di Lammermoor.—
Helen Shaw,
The New Yorker,
21 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Richard Chamberlain, the handsome leading man who thrilled women as the young star of Dr. Kildare and then centered the epic, melodramatic miniseries Shogun and The Thorn Birds, has died.—
Mike Barnes,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Mar. 2025
-
This should play as a melodramatic contrivance — along with the possibility that the shooter could be an angry incel teen named David whom Robby saw at the start of his shift.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stagy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stagy. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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