Definition
Performing or exaggerating one's actions, emotions, or expressions in an excessive way that seems unnatural or unconvincing.
Etymology
From 'over-' (excessively) + 'acting,' from Latin 'agere' (to do/act). The concept of bad acting is old, but the specific term 'overact' became common in theater criticism in the 18th-19th centuries. It describes the opposite of understated, naturalistic performance.
Kelly Says
Stage acting historically involved wild gesturing and loud voices to reach audiences without microphones—what we'd call overacting today. When film came along with closeup cameras, actors had to tone it down dramatically. Now what counts as 'overacting' depends entirely on the medium!
Translations
AMአማርኛ
አይነት አይነት
ay-net ay-net
ARالعربية
تصرف مبالغ فيه
tasrif mubaligh feeh
BNবাংলা
অতিরঞ্জিত
oti-ran-jit
CACatalà
exagerar
eh-zah-ge-rar
CSČeština
předneste
pre-dnes-te
DADansk
overspille
oh-ver-spill-e
DEDeutsch
übertreiben
oo-ber-trai-ben
ELΕλληνικά
υπερβολή
iper-vo-li
ESEspañol
exagerar
eh-zah-ge-rar
FISuomi
liioitella
lii-o-i-tel-la
FRFrançais
faire semblant
faire sen-blahn
HEעברית
להגזים
le-ha-gaz-im
HIहिन्दी
अत्यधिक अभिनय
at-y-dik ab-hinay
HUMagyar
túlzás
too-l-zas
IDBahasa Indonesia
berlebihan
ber-le-be-han
IGIG
eme n'anya
eme n'anya
ITItaliano
esagerare
eh-zah-ge-ra-re
KMKM
ប្រើប្រាស់
preu-bra-sa
MSBahasa Melayu
berlebihan
ber-le-be-han
MYမြန်မာ
ပြောကြား
pyaw-kya-r
NLNederlands
overdrijven
oh-ver-drie-ven
NONorsk
overspille
oh-ver-spill-e
PLPolski
przesadzać
pre-sa-dzat
PTPortuguês
exagerar
eh-zah-ge-rar
RORomână
a exagera
a eh-zah-ge-ra
RUРусский
переигрывать
pe-re-i-gry-vat
SVSvenska
överdriva
oh-ver-dri-va
SWKiswahili
kujiridhi
koo-ji-ri-dhi
TAதமிழ்
அதிகமாக நடித்தல்
a-thi-ka-ma-ka na-di-thal
TEతెలుగు
అతిగా నటించడం
a-thi-ga na-ti-n-cha-dam
THไทย
แสดงท่าทางมากเกินไป
sane-ng ta-wang mahk-gern-pai
TLTL
maging sobra
ma-ging so-bra
TRTürkçe
abartmak
ah-bar-tmak
UKУкраїнська
перегравати
pere-gra-vat
VITiếng Việt
diễn quá
dien qua
ZUZU
ukusho ngcono
oo-koo-sho ng-con-o