theatrical

From Latin theātricus +‎ -al.^[1] By surface analysis, theatre +‎ -ical.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /θiːˈætɹɪkəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /θiˈætɹɪkəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

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theatrical (comparative more theatrical, superlative most theatrical)

1. Of or relating to the theatre.

   Synonyms: dramatic, histrionic, scenic, stagy, theatric, thespian

   • 12 July 2012, Sam Adams, AV Club Ice Age: Continental Drift

     The matter of whether the world needs a fourth Ice Age movie pales beside the question of why there were three before it, but Continental Drift feels less like an extension of a theatrical franchise than an episode of a middling TV cartoon, lolling around on territory that’s already been settled.

2. Fake and exaggerated.

   Synonyms: affected, stagy; see also Thesaurus:pretentious

   • 1941 July, “The Armistice Coach”, in Railway Magazine, page 317:

     The ceremony and its scene were characterised by that high sense of the theatrical which has marked the activities of the Third Reich.

theatrical (plural theatricals)

1. A stage performance, especially one by amateurs.
2. A commercially produced film to be shown in movie theaters.
   • 2005, The Hollywood Reporter, page 61:

     Release schedules were stepped up so that virtually all of the summer theatricals are coming to video before year's end.

3. A person who works in theatre.
   • 1945, George Tabori, Beneath the Stone, page 177:

     Both of her parents were theatricals — that is, the father played the violin and the mother attempted to dance but later she dropped the pretence.