Insincere, exaggeratedly emotional or overly dramatical speech or behavior performed to create an impression rather than as an expression of true feeling; feigned emotion.
... better work with his brains than his muscles, he finds every facility provided for testing the reality of his supposed bent, of cultivating it, and if fit of pursuing it as his avocation. The schools of technology, of medicine, of art, of music, of histrionics, and of higher liberal learning are always open to aspirants ... — Looking Backward - 2000-1887 • Edward Bellamy
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