pantomime
/ˈpæn.təˌmʌɪm/US/ˈpæn.təˌmaɪm/
pantomime noun: a Classical comic actor, especially one who works mainly through gesture and mime.
Noun
pantomime (countable and uncountable, plural pantomimes)
- A Classical comic actor, especially one who works mainly through gesture and mime.
- [He] saw a pantomime perform so well that he could follow the performance from the action alone.1865, Edward Burnett Tylor, Researches into the Early History of Mankind and the Development of Civilization
- The drama in ancient Greece and Rome featuring such performers; or (later) any of various kinds of performance modelled on such work.
- A traditional theatrical entertainment, originally based on the commedia dell'arte, but later aimed mostly at children and involving physical comedy, topical jokes, call and response, and fairy-tale plots.
- With the Stoke supporters jeering Ziv's every subsequent touch, the pantomime atmosphere created by the home crowd reached a crescendo when Ziv was shown a straight red shortly after the break in extraordinary circumstances.2011 October 20, Michael da Silva, “Stoke 3 - 0 Macc Tel-Aviv”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 12 Sep 2015
- Wilson is no stranger to pantoland: “I have fun memories of seeing pantomimes in Australia when I was a kid. They were on at our local Returned and Services League club – my relatives fought in the wars. My mum also said that when I was two, she took me to my first pantomime in Sydney.2025 November 28, Hollie Richardson, “Oh yes he is! Kiefer Sutherland dives into the world of panto”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 02 Dec 2025
- Synonyms:
- panto
- The act of gesturing without speaking; a dumb-show, a mime.
- A staid, steadfast man, whose life for the most part was a telling pantomime of action, and not a tame chapter of sounds.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 26”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC
- In pantomime, Chief Joyi would fling his spear and creep along the veld as he narrated the victories and defeats.1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 26
Verb
pantomime (third-person singular simple present pantomimes, present participle pantomiming, simple past and past participle pantomimed)
pantomime meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
pantomime in Hindi
- पैंटोमाइम
pantomime in Tamil
- ஊமை அபிநயம், சைகை நடிப்பு, கேலிக்கூத்து, வியஞ்சகம், ஆங்கியக் காட்சி
pantomime in Marathi
- पॅन्टॉमाइम, पेंटोमाईम करण्यासाठी
pantomime in Urdu
- پینٹومائم
More languagesFewer languages
- pantomime in Bengali
- মূকাভিনয় mukabhinoẏ
- pantomime in Telugu
- పాంటోమైమ్, పాంటోమైమ్కు
- pantomime in Malayalam
- മൗനനാടകം, ഒരുതരം ആട്ടക്കഥ, ആംഗ്യആട്ടക്കാരൻ, ഒരിനം നാടകാഭിനയം
- pantomime in Kannada
- ಊಮೆಕೂತು, ಊಮೆ ನುಡಿತ, ಸನ್ನೆನುಡಿ
- pantomime in Punjabi
- ਪੈਂਟੋਮਾਈਮ
- pantomime in Gujarati
- પેન્ટોમાઈમ, પેન્ટોમાઇમ
- pantomime in Odia
- ପ୍ଯ଼ାନ୍ଟୋମାଇମ୍, ପାନ୍ତୋମାଇମ୍
- pantomime in Nepali
- प्यान्टोमाइम, प्यान्टोमाइम्, प्यान्टोमाइम गर्न
- pantomime in Malay
- pantomim, kialan
Examples of pantomime in a sentence
- The entrancement of a child by the bright lights and other paraphernalia of a pantomime is a magical sight.
- The pantomime features an all-star cast.
- Let's begin with the pantomime villain that everyone seemingly loves to hate, Elon Musk.
Synonyms of pantomime
Forms of pantomime
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | pantomimes |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | pantomimes |
| present participle | pantomiming |
| past participle | pantomimed |
| past | pantomimed |
Origin of pantomime
First appears c. 1606, from Latin pantomīmus, from Ancient Greek παντόμιμος (pantómimos), from πᾶς (pâs, “each, all”) + μιμέομαι (miméomai, “to mimic”). The verbal form first appears c. 1768.
Words formed from pantomime
Phrases with pantomime
Questions about pantomime
- What does pantomime mean?
- Pantomime means a Classical comic actor, especially one who works mainly through gesture and mime.
- What is pantomime in Hindi?
- Pantomime in Hindi is पैंटोमाइम. See Pantomime meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is pantomime?
- Pantomime can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce pantomime?
- Pantomime is pronounced /ˈpæn.təˌmʌɪm/ (UK).
- What is the plural of pantomime?
- The plural of pantomime is pantomimes.
Words near pantomime in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: pantomime (page history and authors); pantomime (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); pantomime (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pantomime (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); pantomime (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); মূকাভিনয় (Bengali) (page history and authors); pantomime (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); pantomime (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pantomime (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pantomime (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); pantomime (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); pantomime (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); pantomime (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-pantomime.wav.
Cite this entry: “pantomime.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pantomime. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.