the·at·ri·cal
thē-ˈa-tri-kəl 
variants
or less commonly theatric
1
a
: of or relating to the theater or the presentation of plays
a theatrical costume
a theatrical troupe
a powerful theatrical performance
b
: of, relating to, or occurring in a movie theater
the theatrical release of a new film
"Give Me Liberty," the Milwaukee-made movie that received good notices at this year's Sundance Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival, will come home for its U.S. theatrical premiere, Aug. 22 at the Oriental Theatre.—
Chris Foran
Chris Foran2
: having qualities suggestive of a stage play or of an actor's performance : deliberately or exaggeratedly dramatic or emotional : histrionic
a theatrical gesture
a theatrical way of speaking
… pulls an enormous handkerchief from the inside breast pocket of his jacket and opens it with a theatrical flourish …—Robert Little
Robert Little1
2
British
: a professional actor
3
theatricals plural
: showy or extravagant gestures
Synonyms
Examples of theatrical in a Sentence
Adjective
a politician who has a highly theatrical manner of speaking
after stepping out of their hired limousine, the prom couple made a theatrical entrance in their evening clothes
Noun
has been involved in amateur theatricals for most of his adult life
Recent Examples on the Web
J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 23 Nov. 2024
Deadline first reported that the original film would be moving from a full theatrical release to a limited one and an immediate premiere on Apple TV+.
—Justin Kroll, Deadline, 22 Nov. 2024
Tom Brueggemann, IndieWire, 4 Nov. 2024
Couple Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco were some of the first celebrities to debut their coordinated costumes: Gomez wore Rodarte for her Alice in Wonderland look, while Blanco went full-on theatrical in his Mad Hatter getup.
—Christian Allaire, Vogue, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for theatrical 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
After going largely uncontested as the top theatrical draw for most of the past month, Sony’s Marvel antihero spin-off is beginning to round out its final numbers.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 23 Nov. 2024
Deadline first reported that the original film would be moving from a full theatrical release to a limited one and an immediate premiere on Apple TV+.
—Justin Kroll, Deadline, 22 Nov. 2024
Noun
The Secret Life of Pets (2016 theatrical release) 5.
—Tom Brueggemann, IndieWire, 4 Nov. 2024
Couple Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco were some of the first celebrities to debut their coordinated costumes: Gomez wore Rodarte for her Alice in Wonderland look, while Blanco went full-on theatrical in his Mad Hatter getup.
—Christian Allaire, Vogue, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for theatrical
Articles Related to theatrical
Dictionary Entries Near theatrical
Cite this Entry
“Theatrical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theatrical. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share