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
Relevance
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
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.
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
-
China’s theatrical box office has staged a strong recovery this year from a severe downturn in 2024, when total ticket revenue declined 23 percent.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2025
-
This includes revenues across television, online video, VOD and theatrical sectors and represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.8% from 2025.—
Sara Merican,
Deadline,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
McIlroy got the job done in a dramatic playoff over Justin Rose after a topsy-turvy final round that featured plenty of ups and downs.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
-
But don't focus directly on the radiant — some of the most dramatic meteors often appear farther away, streaking across the surrounding sky.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
17 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Queen may have started as a four-piece rock band but their ambitions and grandiose stage shows led to lavish studio productions that took them in orchestral and operatic directions.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
10 Apr. 2025
-
Given the full operatic treatment of a 1970s Elton album, this might feel very different. 308.—
Shana Naomi Krochmal,
Vulture,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
And this emotional but never melodramatic four-part drama, written by Jack Thorne (His Dark Materials) and directed by Michael Keillor, is an unusually empathetic and perceptive example.—
Judy Berman,
TIME,
27 Feb. 2025
-
These were the anarchists, whose isolated but highly publicized acts of individual retaliation were intended as inspirational melodramatic theatre rather than as actual revolutionary politics.—
Adam Gopnik,
The New Yorker,
24 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stagy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stagy. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share