Pantomime

Quick meaning: Pantomime is a noun meaning (now rare) A Classical comic actor, especially one who works mainly through gesture and mime.

Meaning

(now rare) A Classical comic actor, especially one who works mainly through gesture and mime.

More Meanings

1. The act of gesturing without speaking; a dumb-show, a mime.
2. (transitive) To make (a gesture) without speaking.
3. (transitive) To entertain others by silent gestures or actions.
4. (Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome) The drama in ancient Greece and Rome featuring such performers; or (later) any of various kinds of performance modelled on such work.
5. (UK) 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.

Example Sentences

I pantomimed steering a car; he understood, and tossed the keys to me.

[He] saw a pantomime perform so well that he could follow the performance from the action alone.

In pantomime, Chief Joyi would fling his spear and creep along the veld as he narrated the victories and defeats.

A staid, steadfast man, whose life for the most part was a telling pantomime of action, and not a tame chapter of sounds.

Word Forms

• pantomimes
• pantomiming
• pantomimed

Synonyms for pantomime

Depending on context, synonyms include panto, mime.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include mime, panto, pantomimus, harlequinade, annual, puppetry.

Related Dictionary Tools