melodrama means A kind of drama having a musical accompaniment to intensify the effect of certain scenes.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, melodrama ranks #2,517 of 14,440 for Most Satisfying to Say, #2,558 of 14,297 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,678 of 14,410 for Most Ponderous Words, #6,087 of 14,340 for Most Vivid Words.
melodrama is pronounced /ˈmɛləˌdɹɑːmə/.
Why “melodrama” is a great word
A dramatic work characterized by sensational plot elements, exaggerated emotion, and often a musical accompaniment to heighten the effect. From French mélodrame (1772), from Ancient Greek μέλος (mélos, "song, melody") + δρᾶμα (drâma, "deed, theatrical act"). Unlike "tragedy," which plumbs the fatal interior flaws of a noble soul, or "realism," which documents the textured ambiguities of the ordinary, melodrama paints its world in stark, exterior strokes of moral polarization and emotional spectacle. It is the mustache-twirling villain tying the heroine to the tracks, the thunderclap perfectly timed with the reading of a lost will, and the single teardrop sliding down a velvet cheek in close-up—a formal insistence that feeling, however outsized, is the truest and loudest fact of life.
Etymology
From French mélodrame, the second element refashioned by analogy with drama; ultimately from Ancient Greek μέλος (mélos, “limb”, “member”, “song”, “tune”, “melody”) + δρᾶμα (drâma, “deed”, “theatrical act”). Compare melodrame. Cognate to German Melodram and Spanish melodrama.
noun
- A kind of drama having a musical accompaniment to intensify the effect of certain scenes.
- A drama abounding in romantic sentiment and agonizing situations, with a musical accompaniment only in parts which are especially thrilling or pathetic.
- A passage in which the orchestra plays a somewhat descriptive accompaniment, while the actor speaks.“The grave-digging scene in Beethoven's “Fidelio” has much melodrama.”
- Any situation or action which is blown out of proportion.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- tragedy 86% match — A drama or similar work, in which the main character is brought to ruin or otherwise suffers the extreme consequences of some tragic flaw or weakness of character. vs melodrama →
- tragicomedy 83% match — The genre of drama that combines elements of tragedy and comedy. vs melodrama →
- histrionics 82% match — Exaggerated, overemotional behaviour, especially when calculated to elicit a response; melodramatics. vs melodrama →
- pathos 81% match — The quality or property of anything which touches the feelings or excites emotions and passions, especially that which awakens tender emotions, such as pity, sorrow, and the like; contagious warmth of feeling, action, or expression; pathetic quality. vs melodrama →
- aria 81% match — A musical piece written typically for a solo voice with orchestral accompaniment in an opera or cantata. vs melodrama →
- tragifarce 81% match — A dramatic work that combines elements of tragedy and farce. vs melodrama →
- melodeclamation 81% match — The practice of reciting poetry while accompanied by concert music. vs melodrama →
- opera 81% match — A theatrical work, combining drama, music, song and sometimes dance. vs melodrama →