Antonyms for melodrama

Grammar : Noun

Spell : mel-uh-drah-muh, -dram-uh

Phonetic Transcription : ˈmɛl əˌdrɑ mə, -ˌdræm ə

Definition of melodrama

Origin : 1784 (1782 as melo drame), "a stage-play in which songs were interspersed and music accompanied the action," from French mélodrame (18c.), from Greek melos "song" (see melody) + French drame "drama" (see drama). Meaning "a romantic and sensational dramatic piece with a happy ending" is from 1883, because this was often the form of the original melodramas. Also from French are Spanish melodrama, Italian melodramma, German melodram. Related: Melodramatize.

As in romance : noun fanciful story or narrative
As in bathos : noun sentimentality
As in soap opera : noun serial broadcast drama
As in sentimentality : noun sentimentalism
As in maudlinism : noun sentimentality
As in mawkishness : noun sentimentality
As in mushiness : noun sentimentality
As in sappiness : noun sentimentality
As in schmaltz : noun sentimentality
As in schmaltziness : noun sentimentality
As in sentimentalism : noun sentimentality
As in sloppiness : noun sentimentality
As in drama : noun theatrical piece; acting
As in drama : noun turmoil in real life
As in dramatization : noun drama
As in excitement : noun enthusiasm; incitement

Example sentences :

Yes, there was a fine scene when I went home that night, a Broadway melodrama.
Extract from : « The Flying Mercury » by Eleanor M. Ingram

Could any melodrama wish for a more appropriate mise-en-scne?
Extract from : « The Mask » by Arthur Hornblow

Staking all on high moments is melodrama with no comic relief.
Extract from : « The Good Housekeeping Marriage Book » by Various

I objected strongly to being treated as the villain of a melodrama.
Extract from : « Love Among the Chickens » by P. G. Wodehouse

We could hardly keep from laughing, it was so very like a melodrama.
Extract from : « Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison » by Austin Biron Bidwell

Angelo is pure melodrama; Marie Tudor is the melodrama of history.
Extract from : « A History of French Literature » by Edward Dowden

"We're to meet a man," Senesin said, with an air of melodrama.
Extract from : « The Unnecessary Man » by Gordon Randall Garrett

I sit, an audience, shedding crocodile tears at a melodrama.
Extract from : « Fantazius Mallare » by Ben Hecht

"I cannot avoid a touch of melodrama, you see," she confessed.
Extract from : « The Devil's Paw » by E. Phillips Oppenheim

In 1805 Lewis recast it into a melodrama, which he called Rugantino.
Extract from : « The Bravo of Venice » by Heinrich Zschokke

Synonyms for melodrama

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019