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Greek drama was originally entirely performed by choruses. According to tradition, the Greek dramatist Thespis, of the 6th century B.C., was the inventor of tragedy and the first to write roles for the individual actor as distinct from the chorus, and the actor's exchanges with the chorus were the first dramatic dialogue. Since Thespis himself performed the individual parts in his own plays, he was also the first true actor. Ever since choruses disappeared from drama, thespians have filled all the roles in plays. Thespian is also an adjective; thus, we can speak of "thespian ambitions" and "thespian traditions", for example.
Synonyms
Examples of thespian in a Sentence
Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 30 July 2024
De Niro’s display of raging bile is typical of this overrated thespian, as is his innate hypocrisy.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 1 June 2024
Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 30 July 2024
The character takes demonstrable pleasure in being the best performer on stage, which Domingo conveys by channeling his storied thespian background, and struggles to hide his annoyance and jealousy towards Divine Eye’s innate swagger.
—Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 11 July 2024
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“Thespian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thespian. Accessed 20 Aug. 2024.
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