Melodramatic

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌmɛl.ə.dɹəˈmæt.ɪk/

Definitions

1. Excessively emotional or theatrical in behavior or expression, often in an exaggerated or affected manner
2. Overly expressive or theatrical in nature, often characterized by intense emotions or drama that may seem inauthentic or exaggerated
3. Displaying strong feelings or actions that are heightened beyond what is natural or needed, appearing overly theatrical

Etymology: Melodrama began as a rather different thing from the word we now use. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, "melodrama" named a stage play combining spoken dialogue with music, usually built on sensational plots, virtuous heroes and villains who were easy to spot. The "melo" element comes from Greek "melos", meaning song or music, and "drama" from Greek "drama", meaning action or play. So the original word was simply a musical play, with no suggestion of excess at all. The adjective "melodramatic" grew out of that noun by the familiar route of adding "-tic", the suffix that turns a noun into an adjective meaning "of or like" it. The noun's theatrical style, with its heightened emotion and exaggerated gestures, gave the adjective its sense of overwrought behaviour. Its formation was modelled after "dramatic", which is why the word carries the same "-matic" ending as its partner. Over time the stage associations faded, and the idea of an emotional performance that outruns the situation took over. Today the word describes a reaction, person or scene that is more intense than the circumstances seem to call for.

Synonyms: theatrical, overemotional, dramatic, exaggerated, histrionic

Antonyms: calm, restrained, subdued, serious, stoic