| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | extravagant in speech, behavior |
| Synonyms: | artificial, blood-and-thunder, cliff-hanging, cloak-and-dagger, exaggerated, ham, hammy, histrionic, hokey, overdramatic, overemotional, sensational, spectacular, stagy, theatrical |
| Antonyms: | calm, normal, untheatrical |
| Main Entry: | affected |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | changed in a bad or artificial way |
| Synonyms: | apish, artificial, assumed, awkward, campy, chichi*, conceited, contrived, counterfeit, counterfeited, faked, false, feigned, fraud*, gone Hollywood, ham, hammy, high falutin', hollow, imitated, insincere, melodramatic, ostentatious, overdone, pedantic, phony, playacting, pompous, precious, pretended, pretentious, put-on, schmaltzy, self-conscious, shallow, sham*, simulated, spurious, stiff, stilted, studied, superficial, theatrical, unnatural |
| Antonyms: | ok, unchanged, unhurt, unimpaired, uninjured |
| Main Entry: | corny |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | trite, clichéd |
| Synonyms: | banal, commonplace, dull, feeble, hackneyed, mawkish, melodramatic, old hat, old-fashioned, sentimental, shopworn, stale, stereotyped, stupid, tired, warmed-over |
| Antonyms: | new, original, unique |
| Main Entry: | dramatic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | exciting, moving |
| Synonyms: | affecting, breathtaking, climactic, comic, effective, electrifying, emotional, expressive, farcical, histrionic, impressive, melodramatic, powerful, sensational, startling, striking, sudden, suspenseful, tense, theatrical, thespian, thrilling, tragic, tragicomic, vivid |
| Antonyms: | comedic, normal, ordinary, undramatic, unexciting, unmoving, usual |
| Main Entry: | exaggerated |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | overstated, embellished |
| Synonyms: | a bit thick, abstract, amplified, artificial, bouncing, caricatural, distorted, embroidered, exalted, excessive, extravagant, fabricated, fabulous, false, fantastic, farfetched, hammy, highly colored, histrionic, hyperbolic, impossible, inflated, magnified, melodramatic, out of proportion, overblown, overdone, overestimated, overkill, overwrought, preposterous, pretentious, schmaltzy, sensational, spectacular, steep, strained, stylized, tall, too much*, too-too, unrealistic |
| Antonyms: | depreciated, minimized, played down, reduced, understated, unembellished, unexaggerated |
| Main Entry: | exciting |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | inspiring, exhilarating |
| Synonyms: | agitative, animating, appealing, arousing, arresting, astonishing, bracing, breathtaking, commoving, dangerous, dramatic, electrifying, exhilarant, eye-popping, far-out, fine, flashy, groovy*, hair-raising, heady, hectic, impelling, impressive, interesting, intoxicating, intriguing, lively, melodramatic, mind-blowing, moving, neat, overpowering, overwhelming, provocative, racy, rip-roaring, rousing, sensational, showy, spine-tingling, stimulating, stirring, thrilling, titillating, wild, zestful |
| Antonyms: | boring, moderate, unenthused, unenthusiastic, unexciting, uninspiring, unpromising, unstimulating |
| Main Entry: | histrionic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | overly dramatic |
| Synonyms: | melodramatic, overacting, overplayed, theatrical, thespian |
| Main Entry: | impassioned |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | excited, vehement |
| Synonyms: | animated, ardent, blazing, burning, deep, fervent, fervid, fierce, fiery, fired up, flaming, furious, glowing, heated, hot-blooded, inflamed, inspired, intense, melodramatic, moving, mushy, overemotional, passionate, perfervid, powerful, profound, red-hot, romantic, rousing, sentimental, starry-eyed, steamed up, stirring, torrid, violent, vivid, warm, white-hot, wild about, worked up, zealous |
| Notes: | impassioned means characterized by intense emotion or full of passion, while impassive means having or revealing little emotion |
| Antonyms: | apathetic, calm, cool, impassive, indifferent, unconcerned, unexcited |
| Main Entry: | lurid |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | shocking, gruesome |
| Synonyms: | ashen, bloody, deep, disgusting, distinct, exaggerated, extreme, fiery, ghastly, gory, graphic, grim, grisly, hideous, horrible, horrid, horrifying, livid, low-down, macabre, melodramatic, obscene, off-color, offensive, purple*, racy, raunchy, revolting, rough, salty, sanguine*, savage, sensational, sinister, startling, terrible, terrifying, violent, vivid, yellow* |
| Notes: | lurid means horrible in fierceness or savagery or glaringly graphic, while livid means very angry or furious |
| Antonyms: | clean, humble, modest |