pantomime
/ˈpæn.təˌmaɪm/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.00 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A Classical comic actor, especially one who works mainly through gesture and mime.
Archaic; Countable; Uncountable
noun
The drama in ancient Greece and Rome featuring such performers; or (later) any of various kinds of performance modelled on such work.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A traditional theatrical entertainment, originally based on the commedia dell'arte, but later aimed mostly at children and involving physical comedy, topical jokes, call and response, and fairy-tale plots.
British usage; Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "[He] saw a pantomime perform so well that he could follow the performance from the action alone."
- "With the Stoke supporters jeering Ziv's every subsequent touch, the pantomime atmosphere created by the home crowd reached a crescendo when Ziv was shown a straight red shortly after the break in extraordinary circumstances."
- "Wilson is no stranger to pantoland: “I have fun memories of seeing pantomimes in Australia when I was a kid. They were on at our local Returned and Services League club – my relatives fought in the wars. My mum also said that when I was two, she took me to my first pantomime in Sydney."
- "A staid, steadfast man, whose life for the most part was a telling pantomime of action, and not a tame chapter of sounds."
- "In pantomime, Chief Joyi would fling his spear and creep along the veld as he narrated the victories and defeats."
- "I pantomimed steering a car; he understood, and tossed the keys to me."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpæn.təˌmaɪm/
- British English: /ˈpæn.təˌmʌɪm/
Usage
- Archaic
- Countable
- Uncountable
- British usage
- Transitive verb