dramadra‧ma /ˈdrɑːmə $ ˈdrɑːmə, ˈdræmə/ ●●● W3 AWL noun 
the great traditions of ancient Greek dramaa TV/television/radio drama the award-winning TV drama ‘Prime Suspect’ a new drama series for Saturday nights a drama critic a courtroom drama (=one that takes place in a court of law) a lavish costume drama (=one about events in a past century) He plays a Russian spy in the comedy drama ‘Sleepers’.2[uncountable] acting – used when talking about it as a subject to study or teach: young actors coming out of drama school our drama teacher3[countable, uncountable] an exciting event or set of events, or the quality of being exciting: Maggie’s life is always full of drama. accidents, burst pipes, and other domestic dramas a night of high drama (=very exciting events) the drama of the moment4make a drama out of something to become upset about a small problem and make it seem worse than it really is: Brian always makes such a drama out of everything.5drama queen a woman or homosexual man who tends to behave as if situations are worse than they really are – used to show disapprovalCOLLOCATIONSADJECTIVES/NOUN + dramaa TV/television/radio drama· The book has been made into a television drama.a costume drama (=about events in history, in which people wear costumes from that time)· a costume drama set in 17th century Francea historical drama (=about events in the past)· She starred in a historical drama about Marie Antoinette.a medical/hospital drama (=about events in a hospital)· He played a doctor in the US medical drama 'ER'.a crime drama (=about a crime or crimes)· 'American Gangster' is a crime drama set in 1970s New York.a courtroom drama (=about events in a court)· The lawyer and sleuth Perry Mason was the hero of 82 courtroom dramas.a romantic drama (=about a romance)· It is a wartime romantic drama.a comedy/tragic drama (=about funny/very sad events)· Martin Clunes is to star in a new comedy drama.a police/cop drama (=about the police)· 'The Bill' is a popular police drama.a three-part/six-part etc drama (=having three/six etc programmes)· It’s a new four-part crime drama starting on Monday night.a Greek drama (=a play from Ancient Greece)· the tragic Greek drama, 'Oedipus'drama + NOUNa drama series/serial (=a number of programmes with the same characters)· It is one of the longest-running drama series on Japanese television.
WORD ORIGINdrama
Origin:
1500-1600 Late Latin, Greek, ‘action, theater plays’, from dran ‘to do’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- a drama student
- He studied English and Drama at Manchester University.
- I was never much good at drama when I was a kid - probably because I was very shy.
- Jeb graduated from drama school in 1997.
- The drama of this year's World Series helped boost the network's ratings.
- At once her own drama was engulfed in the tumult of Hyacinth's entry into a woman's estate.
- Audiences like to see fires; fires kill, and when people are killed there is drama.
- Both dramas have finished their runs for the season and, for lack of ratings, might not be back next year.
- Carol Smith has pointed to the importance of this book for the primitive ritual elements in Eliot's drama.
- Eliot stressed that there should be no maintaining of different attitudes for cathedral drama and for West End theatre.
- IfJoyce seemed mortified now, Lois suspected it was drama.
- The jury for drama handed out a pair of special prizes.
- These, exemplified from drama, are the subject of the sixth chapter.
Longman Language Activatorthe activity or study of acting
the job or skill of being an actor: · You shouldn't take up acting as a career; it's a very risky business.· Gloria Reuben quit acting to join Tina Turner on stage as a backing singer and dancer.
British /theater American the business and activity of arranging, acting in, and performing plays in theatres: · She does some TV work, but theatre remains her first love.· the use of theatre in primary school educationthe theatre/the theater: · Shakespeare's plays were written for the theater, but many people study them as literature.
the study of acting and plays as a subject at school, college, or university: · He studied English and Drama at Manchester University.· a drama student· I was never much good at drama when I was a kid - probably because I was very shy.
acting in plays as an activity that you do in your free time for enjoyment, not as a job you get paid for: · Jonathan once appeared in a local amateur dramatics production of 'Death of a Salesman'.· Her hobbies include amateur dramatics and horse riding.
too easily influenced by emotions someone who is sentimental is too easily affected by emotions such as sympathy, love, or sadness: · My father became increasingly sentimental as he got older and his friends died off.sentimental about: · Ramos admitted he was sentimental about his old school and was sad to see it torn down.
a tendency to become emotional and to enjoy feelings such as sadness, sympathy, and self-pity, especially in a way that other people think is silly: · The film is flawed by moments of melodrama and sentimentality.· He talked about his homeland with all the sentimentality of an expatriate.sentimentality about: · He has no sentimentality about firing unproductive employees, even those who have worked for the company for years.
informal someone who is soppy seems silly to other people, because they express feelings of love or sympathy too strongly: · After a few drinks, he got all soppy and started talking about the "good old days'.soppy about: · I was heartbroken when our dog died but I was determined not to be soppy about it.
British informal expressing your love for someone, especially a baby, in a way that other people think is silly: · Babies make her go all gooey.
informal someone who becomes very excited, upset, or angry about things that are not important, especially in order to make people notice them or feel sympathy for them: · Stop being such a drama queen! It's not the end of the world!
WORD SETSaesthete, nounagitprop, nounart gallery, nounartist, nounartwork, nounavant-garde, adjectivebaroque, adjectivecapture, verbceramics, nouncharacter, nounclassical, adjectiveclassicism, nouncompere, nouncontemporary, adjectiveconvention, nouncreative, adjectivecritical, adjectivecrossover, nouncubism, nouncultural, adjectiveculturally, adverbculture, nouncurator, nouncycle, noundrama, nouneisteddfod, nounepic, nouneponymous, adjectiveerotic, adjectiveerotica, nouneroticism, nounexhibit, verbexhibit, nounexhibition, nounexpress, verbexpression, nounexpressionism, nounextract, nounfictionalize, verbfigurine, nounfin de siècle, adjectiveflashback, nounformalism, nounfuturism, nounglaze, verbglaze, nounGothic, adjectivehandcrafted, adjectivehandicraft, nounhandmade, adjectivehigh priest, nounhistorical, adjectiveinterpretation, nounItalianate, adjectivelowbrow, adjectivemagnum opus, nounmarquetry, nounmasterpiece, nounmasterwork, nounmature, adjectivemedium, nounMFA, nounmiddlebrow, adjectiveminimalism, nounmotif, nounmuse, nounnarrator, nounnaturalism, nounneoclassical, adjectivenotice, nounoeuvre, nounoffering, nounopening, adjectiveopus, nounpan, verbparody, nounpastiche, nounpattern, nounpiece, nounpop art, nounportfolio, nounpostmodernism, nounprequel, nounpreview, nounproduce, verbproduction, nounrealism, nounrealistic, adjectiverehash, verbreview, nounreview, verbromantic, nounromanticism, nounroyalty, nounrubbish, nounsalon, nounscenario, nounscene, nounsensuous, adjectivesentimental, adjectivesequel, nounsequence, nounset piece, nounsetting, nounShakespearean, adjectiveshowing, nounskit, nounstory, nounstudio, nounstylistic, adjectivesurrealism, nounswansong, nounsynopsis, nountitle, nountrilogy, nountwo-dimensional, adjectiveuncut, adjectiveunexpurgated, adjectivevillain, nounwork, nounwork of art, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYADJECTIVES/NOUN + drama He had watched the drama unfold from a nearby ship. They held a number of music workshops and seminars.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
· The book has been made into a television drama.
(=about events in history, in which people wear costumes from that time)· a costume drama set in 17th century France
(=about events in the past)· She starred in a historical drama about Marie Antoinette.
(=about events in a hospital)· He played a doctor in the US medical drama 'ER'.
(=about a crime or crimes)· 'American Gangster' is a crime drama set in 1970s New York.
(=about events in a court)· The lawyer and sleuth Perry Mason was the hero of 82 courtroom dramas.
(=about a romance)· It is a wartime romantic drama.
(=about funny/very sad events)· Martin Clunes is to star in a new comedy drama.
(=about the police)· 'The Bill' is a popular police drama.
(=having three/six etc programmes)· It’s a new four-part crime drama starting on Monday night.
(=a play from Ancient Greece)· the tragic Greek drama, 'Oedipus'
drama + NOUN (=a number of programmes with the same characters)· It is one of the longest-running drama series on Japanese television.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES· The Music College was founded in 1869.
(=plays written during this time in England)
He had watched the drama unfold from a nearby ship. They held a number of music workshops and seminars.· His band are reedy and twiddly; to work, Almond's stuff needs a huge orchestra capable of great drama.· They observe with great sensitivity the dramas, rhythms, and presence of place.· Luongo's life is full of incident but no great drama.· On the other hand, I had a great drama teacher in high school.· It could have been great drama.· But it is great drama, which both entertains and instructs.· D.S. One of the great things about drama school is what you learn to reject as much as what you actually learn.· There are more powers than chance and pure mechanism, underlying this great cosmic drama.
· But Merseyside and Manchester both proved last week that it is possible to concoct high drama without substituting motivation for mutilation.· The high drama at the Fed involves its decisions on interest rates and the money supply.· They refused to yield against awkward opponents, on a difficult pitch, in a match of high drama and controversial incidents.· Any high drama that remains is found deep in technical working party country.· The problem is even more severe with the natural world, where the ratio of observable high drama is much lower.· St Kilda never does things by halves: the whole setting is one of high drama.· But now, along with high drama, diners at Checkers can enjoy a lighter menu.
· The Simpson verdict, by contrast, was a human drama involving the most famous defendant of the century.· These are the human dramas behind the organizational buzzwords.· But these flourishes never distract from the droll human dramas that Wong has so astutely and amusingly worked out.· Anger is an essential part of the human drama.· But all feelings are part of the human drama.· This lets your child know that feelings of loss and emptiness are part of the human drama.
· This little drama - and other scenes like it - is played out method-acting style almost every day in this particular household.· However, this little drama was never performed.· Jeffries was constructing a little drama in which I was the emblematic white critic.
· I have joined a new drama club - Open Stage we're performing Bugsy Malone soon!· Accordingly, he formulated a new conception of drama to suit his own inclinations.· To others-fans of new drama, most critics-the play is a glimpse of hell.· It took a new generation of drama advisers to attempt to bring it back again.
· The lack of political drama did not seem to matter to most voters Saturday.
· The final death scene is superbly realized, conveying powerful drama with no posturing.
· As a result, the romantic dramas of Friends-Ross and Rachel, Monica and Chandler-were tantalisingly paradoxical.· Here too, the comedia lacrimosa announced what was to become prevalent in Romantic drama.· This element of mystery will also be characteristic of Romantic drama.· The ideas and techniques it set forth provided the initial stimulus for Romantic drama.· In its subordination of character to plot, sentimental comedy moves in the direction of Romantic drama.· The play is also an excellent precursor for Romantic drama.· Practically all moralizing is absent from Romantic drama.· As Romantic drama evolves, the pariah soon becomes the most compelling of characters.
· But one key figure in this whole drama has remained silent - Prince Charles.· What does a whole group drama look like?· So how, in whole group drama, do we build commitment to the work and engagement in the issues?· This strategy of setting up interactive and interdependent small groups is effectively what is happening in whole group drama.· True, it was the most upsetting, conflict-inducing scene in the whole drama.· How wrong could I be? Whole group drama in fact offers individuals great opportunities for personal decision making.
NOUN· Nothing could be further from costume drama or the spreading of cloaks over puddles.· More often, the movie founders when confronting spiritual issues and settles for the spectacle of a costume drama.
· There are a lot of courtroom drama books and serial killer tales about, but this one is special.· Her stories of courtroom drama had a strong effect.· If he had his way this would be a five-hour courtroom drama with Sonny playing himself in the role.
· I have joined a drama group called Open stage we are performing Bugsy Malone in August it's great fun!· Read in studio A school drama group tonight launches one of the most ambitious amateur productions ever staged.· Recently I joined a drama group - I may have said.· Oxford's student societies have become world famous, especially the drama group and the Oxford Union.· I have recently joined a drama group called Open Stage!· My drama group people may be rather dim, but they're generous.
· He starred in many television and radio dramas, including Middlemarch, in which he played Bulstrode.
· A.R. You both went into the theatre together from the same drama school?· Dropouts from drama school who had learned just enough about theatricality to make a nuisance of themselves.· People had seen me in my drama school finals.· It was assumed that many who appeared on the box had been to drama school.· Above all you need new audience experience now you are out of drama school.· For drama school it is the first taste of things to come and on the whole a good thing.· A.R. You didn't do that exercise in drama school?
· Why not settle in, raise your little girl, sign up for the concert and drama series.· Franz won the Emmy as best actor in a drama series for the 1993-1994 season, not Caruso.· But none of them carries a show, and there are no drama series and few movies that feature predominantly black casts.
· Now it is how Dorothy Heathcote sees the relationship between the two that sets her apart from most drama teachers.· On the other hand, I had a great drama teacher in high school.· There were all sorts of practical problems which Nigel Barnes, the drama teacher faced.· You don't need a vast repertoire of games in order to be a highly effective drama teacher.· Nigel Barnes, the drama teacher, also joined the project.· But he writes: The number of drama teachers in schools has grown rapidly for years.· The pupils responded magnificently under the direction of drama teacher Mike Quinn, with outstanding performances from all the cast.· Many drama teachers have devised their own versions of this method.
· And to what extent does television drama supply it?· Most television drama attracts some mail from interested viewers but rarely does that mail arrive by the sackful.· They are especially prevalent in some feature films, television dramas and documentaries.· It's featured in television dramas such as Taggart and Prime Suspect 2.
VERB· Many other men and organisations had reason to be proud of the parts they had played in the drama.· As they played out the drama, however.· In this, Ken played a drama instructor caught up in the then current controversy over corporal punishment.· He plays out elaborate dramas, and his parents view him as enormously creative.
· He had watched the drama unfold from a support vessel.· With a beady eye he watches the drama of the market place.· By ten the next morning, some twenty thousand people were on hand to watch the drama unfold.· All of which meant that Sanchez watched the subsequent drama unfold from a television monitor.· Marie had watched many hospital dramas on television.
· Five years later, Jimmy McGovern wrote a drama about these events and their aftermath.· And did she really write drama criticism for the News?· Other seminars concentrated on media skills such as poster-making, writing, drama, audio cassette production and the use of newsletters.· He also wrote Biblical dramas which display a deep love of nature.· Aristotle wrote about it in relation to drama and what we can gain by going to the theatre.· Gundulic also wrote dramas, masques and pastorals.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► make a drama out of somethingPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► pile it on/pile on the drama
- Stop being such a drama queen! It's not the end of the world!
- The movie is full of grandeur and high adventure.
- Any high drama that remains is found deep in technical working party country.
- But Merseyside and Manchester both proved last week that it is possible to concoct high drama without substituting motivation for mutilation.
- But now, along with high drama, diners at Checkers can enjoy a lighter menu.
- But what a chance for high adventure!
- The high drama at the Fed involves its decisions on interest rates and the money supply.
- The problem is even more severe with the natural world, where the ratio of observable high drama is much lower.
- They refused to yield against awkward opponents, on a difficult pitch, in a match of high drama and controversial incidents.
- Thus ended an episode of high drama, the excitement of which tends to distort its significance.
- He thought of hitting Guy, saw himself doing it, like some violent film, slow-motion.
- His nose was broken in two places by a player he had sent off for violent play.
- They have a violent film then they have a violent advert.
WORD FAMILYnoundramadramatistadjectivedramaticverbdramatize
1[countable, uncountable] a play for the theatre, television, radio etc, usually a serious one, or plays in general: the great traditions of ancient Greek dramaa TV/television/radio drama the award-winning TV drama ‘Prime Suspect’ a new drama series for Saturday nights a drama critic a courtroom drama (=one that takes place in a court of law) a lavish costume drama (=one about events in a past century) He plays a Russian spy in the comedy drama ‘Sleepers’.2[uncountable] acting – used when talking about it as a subject to study or teach: young actors coming out of drama school our drama teacher3[countable, uncountable] an exciting event or set of events, or the quality of being exciting: Maggie’s life is always full of drama. accidents, burst pipes, and other domestic dramas a night of high drama (=very exciting events) the drama of the moment4make a drama out of something to become upset about a small problem and make it seem worse than it really is: Brian always makes such a drama out of everything.5drama queen a woman or homosexual man who tends to behave as if situations are worse than they really are – used to show disapprovalCOLLOCATIONSADJECTIVES/NOUN + dramaa TV/television/radio drama· The book has been made into a television drama.a costume drama (=about events in history, in which people wear costumes from that time)· a costume drama set in 17th century Francea historical drama (=about events in the past)· She starred in a historical drama about Marie Antoinette.a medical/hospital drama (=about events in a hospital)· He played a doctor in the US medical drama 'ER'.a crime drama (=about a crime or crimes)· 'American Gangster' is a crime drama set in 1970s New York.a courtroom drama (=about events in a court)· The lawyer and sleuth Perry Mason was the hero of 82 courtroom dramas.a romantic drama (=about a romance)· It is a wartime romantic drama.a comedy/tragic drama (=about funny/very sad events)· Martin Clunes is to star in a new comedy drama.a police/cop drama (=about the police)· 'The Bill' is a popular police drama.a three-part/six-part etc drama (=having three/six etc programmes)· It’s a new four-part crime drama starting on Monday night.a Greek drama (=a play from Ancient Greece)· the tragic Greek drama, 'Oedipus'drama + NOUNa drama series/serial (=a number of programmes with the same characters)· It is one of the longest-running drama series on Japanese television.