play-acting
Feigning for show
Play-acting is pretending or performing, especially in an exaggerated or insincere way.
Children engage in play-acting when they pretend to be pirates or doctors.
Applied to adults, the term usually suggests fakery—emotions or behavior that aren't genuine: His outrage was pure play-acting.
The verb is play-act; the person is a play-actor.
Absurd or obvious pretense
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- feigningPretending to feel something
- make-believeImaginative play or fantasy
- fakeryDeliberate deception or pretense
simulation · posturing · affectation · deception · guise · facade · sham · insincerity
Carrying out a task
- sceneDramatic unit or locale
- monologueUninterrupted solo address
- dialogueSpoken exchange between parties
- dramaTheatrical art or turmoil
comedy · costume · props · stage · audience · troupe · sketch · improvisation
Imaginative play or fantasy
- dress-upPlay involving costumes
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
- dollsToy human figures
costumes · superheroes · princesses · pirates · cowboys · stuffed-animals · playmates · games
charade
Absurd or obvious pretense
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- feigningPretending to feel something
- make-believeImaginative play or fantasy
fakery · simulation · posturing · affectation · deception · guise · facade · sham · insincerity · put-on
performance
Carrying out a task
- sceneDramatic unit or locale
- monologueUninterrupted solo address
- dialogueSpoken exchange between parties
drama · comedy · costume · props · stage · audience · troupe · sketch · improvisation · characterization
make-believe
Imaginative play or fantasy
- dress-upPlay involving costumes
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
dolls · costumes · superheroes · princesses · pirates · cowboys · stuffed-animals · playmates · games · storytelling
- insincerityinsincerity, phoniness, fakeness, falseness, pretense
- pretendingpretend, pretending, fake, feign, make-believe
play-actingsincerity
Honest, unfeigned genuineness
genuineness · authenticity · honesty · truth · candor