Meanings
thespian1
comparative more thespian · superlative most thespian · alternative Thespian
- Of, or relating to drama and acting; dramatic, theatrical.
Thespian2
plural Thespians
- A person from the ancient Greek city of Thespiae.
- Alternative letter-case form of thespian.
Now, I don’t think you’ve met Melissa Wayne, a fellow Thespian.
1990, Pat Booth, Malibu, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, page 1562 more examples
In his way Carlyle was as much of a Thespian as Garrick or Kemble, Booth or Jeferson.
1903, Adrian H[offman] Joline, The Diversions of a Book-Lover, New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers, page 170The courtyard’s empty and the Clients are inside the castle making pigs of themselves while watching a troupe of Thespians bait an animatronic bear.
1995 April, George Saunders, “Bounty”, in Harper’s Magazine, volume 290, number 1739
comparative more Thespian · superlative most Thespian
- Alternative letter-case form of thespian.
He stopped, and smiled, his blond hair, male-model good looks, and his ponytail giving away his Thespian dreams.
1990, Pat Booth, Malibu, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 1132 more examples
Went to that magnificent Temple of Thalia, the New Olympic, and saw the bewitchingest Pauline, in the person of Winifred Emery, that ever I saw in the shammiest, stagiest, tawdriest, tinsellest, transparentest, most diaphanously theatrical comedy I ever saw in the absolute period of my Thespian existence.
1890 December 24, “Judy’s Diary”, in Judy: The London Serio-comic Journal, volume 46, London: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 306, column 2“A stunning clotheshorse upon whom no discernible Thespian demands were made,” wrote Jack Gould, the television critic for The New York Times.
2019 February 18, “Lee Radziwill, Former Princess and Sister of a First Lady, Is Dead at 85”, in The New York Times, section B, page 8
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- LatinThespis
- Englishthespian
From Latin Thespis, from the name of the Ancient Greek actor Thespis (fl. 6th century BCE), from Θέσπις (Théspis) + -ian.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian драматичен
- драматичен (dramatičen)of, or relating to drama and acting
Catalan actoral
- actoralof, or relating to drama and acting
Italian drammatico, drammatica
- drammaticoof, or relating to drama and acting
- drammaticaof, or relating to drama and acting
- teatraleof, or relating to drama and acting
Polish aktorski
- aktorskiof, or relating to drama and acting
Spanish actoral
- actoralof, or relating to drama and acting
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
thespian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thespian
“thespian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thespian. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thespian,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thespian.
Source: thespian on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.