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
Some reservations: Song plays out the scenes between Lucy and Harry, and between Lucy and John, as two-way dialogues that are often stagy and too on-the-nose.
—
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2025
His Cabinet gathered in the Rose Garden alongside supporters wearing hard hats and reflective vests—a stagy reference to all the manufacturing jobs that would presumably be flooding back to U.S. soil.
—Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
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
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2025
His Cabinet gathered in the Rose Garden alongside supporters wearing hard hats and reflective vests—a stagy reference to all the manufacturing jobs that would presumably be flooding back to U.S. soil.
—Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stagy
Adjective
-
Additionally, Paramount’s fourth film in its Sonic the Hedgehog franchise that adapts the video game series of the same name is set for theatrical release the week prior.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
9 June 2025
-
The action sequel, which marks the franchise’s first new theatrical installment in 15 years, has grossed $35 million domestically and $74 globally to date.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
8 June 2025
Adjective
-
The change from Skinner to Pickard helped stabilize the Oilers in Game 4, enough to spark a dramatic overtime comeback.—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
16 June 2025
-
Some of Lloyd’s recent productions—including the dramatic monochrome Sunset Boulevard and Romeo and Juliet—use cameras and screens; all use microphones.—
Sarah Crompton,
Vogue,
16 June 2025
Adjective
-
With Burton's departure, however, what had been a filmed graphic novel returned to comic-book clashes; Joel Schumacher traded operatic style for sitcom puns well suited to casual video viewing.—
EW Staff,
EW.com,
15 June 2025
-
The operatic action and intriguing exposition is there, but this solid third installment winds up a good but not great effort, owing to a convoluted last act and underdeveloped supporting characters.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
9 June 2025
Adjective
-
Yet these persuasive quiet bits sit within the larger shape of a book that was meant to be melodramatic and violent.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
9 June 2025
-
Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, Ana de Armas, Sydney Sweeney, and Daniel Brühl are among the stars gone enjoyably unhinged for this true story of melodramatic conflict among the European settlers of a Galápagos island.—
A.A. Dowd,
Vulture,
20 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stagy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stagy. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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