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melodrama

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mel⋅o⋅dra⋅ma

  [mel-uh-drah-muh, -dram-uh]
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–noun
1. a dramatic form that does not observe the laws of cause and effect and that exaggerates emotion and emphasizes plot or action at the expense of characterization.
2. melodramatic behavior or events.
3. (in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries) a romantic dramatic composition with music interspersed.
Origin:
1800–10; < F mélodrame, equiv. to mélo- (< Gk mélos song) + drame drama

Related forms:
mel⋅o⋅dram⋅a⋅tist  [mel-uh-dram-uh-tist, -drah-muh-] , noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mel·o·dra·ma   (měl'ə-drä'mə, -drām'ə)   
n.  

    1. A drama, such as a play, film, or television program, characterized by exaggerated emotions, stereotypical characters, and interpersonal conflicts.

    2. The dramatic genre characterized by this treatment.

  2. Behavior or occurrences having melodramatic characteristics.


[Alteration of melodrame, from French mélodrame, spoken drama that includes some musical accompaniment, melodrama : Greek melos, song + French drame, drama (from Late Latin drāma; see drama).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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