theatrical

Pluraltheatricals

1. 1
   adjective

   Of or relating to the theater, or to the production and performance of plays.

   Her theatrical career began with small roles in regional productions.

   The university offers courses in theatrical design and stage management.

   Similardramatic, scenic, thespian, theatric

   Note

   The literal sense, and the root of the others: Latin theātricus with English -al added, though it reads naturally as theater plus -ical. That stacked suffix is why the shorter twin theatric exists, meaning the same thing. Use theatrical for what belongs to the stage itself, as in theatrical design or a theatrical career. Because the "fake and exaggerated" meaning grew from it, the context should make clear which one you intend.

2. 2
   adjective

   Fake and exaggerated, as if performed for an audience.

   The senator's theatrical outrage convinced no one in the chamber.

   With a theatrical flourish, he unveiled a perfectly ordinary casserole.

   Similaraffected, pretentious, stagy, stilted, precious

   Oppositenatural, unaffected, sincere, understated

   Note

   Here the stage becomes an accusation: behavior that seems staged for onlookers rather than felt. Its synonyms affected and stagy carry the same sting. With the definite article it turns into a noun for the quality itself. Railway Magazine in 1941 said the Third Reich's ceremonies showed "that high sense of the theatrical." Placed before nouns like outrage or flourish, it signals doubt about sincerity.

3. 3
   nouncountable

   A commercially produced film intended for release in movie theaters.

   Her first theatrical earned ten times its budget at the box office.

   The animation studio announced two theatricals and a streaming series for next year.

   Similarfeature, film, movie

   Note

   A film-industry term, short for a film with a theatrical release. The Hollywood Reporter in 2005 wrote of "the summer theatricals" coming to video before year's end, which shows the contrast the word exists to make. A theatrical is defined by where it plays first, not by its genre. It belongs to trade writing; in general prose, film or movie is clearer.

4. 4
   nouncountable

   A play or other performance put on before an audience, especially one given by amateur performers.

   The village hall hosted a theatrical every winter, complete with homemade costumes and painted scenery.

   Guests at the country house were recruited to perform in an evening theatrical.

   Similarplay, performance, production, show

   Note

   A countable noun made from the adjective, and its plural is where readers can trip. Theatricals may be amateur stage shows, films made for cinema release, or people who work in theater. The surrounding words usually settle it. Amateur or village points to performances, release or box office to films, and a family or a trade to people.

5. 5
   nouncountable

   A person who works in the theater, such as an actor, director, or stagehand.

   Every theatrical in the touring company knew the superstition about whistling backstage.

   The boarding house near the playhouse had lodged generations of theatricals.

   Similarthespian, trouper

   Note

   A word for people that stretches well beyond actors. In George Tabori's Beneath the Stone (1945), a violinist father and a would-be dancer mother both count as theatricals, with a wry hint that the label flatters them. The plural is the trap: theatricals can also mean amateur stage performances, so check whether the sentence is about people or shows.

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