dramatize
Meaning
to adapt a story or event so that it can be performed as a play or film.
to present or describe something in a way that makes it seem more exciting, important, or serious than it really is.
Structure
Usage
the novelist agreed to let a studio dramatize her latest book for television.
he has a tendency to dramatize minor problems, turning them into major crises.
the documentary dramatizes the key moments of the peace negotiations with historical reenactments.
Etymology
the word 'dramatize' is built upon the greek noun 'drama', which originally meant 'deed' or 'action' and specifically came to denote a theatrical performance. the suffix '-ize', of greek origin via latin, is a productive verb-forming element meaning 'to make into' or 'to treat in the manner of'. therefore, the literal construction means 'to make into a drama'. this evolved from the concrete sense of adapting a narrative for the stage to the more abstract modern meaning of presenting any event or situation with the heightened emotion and impact characteristic of a stage play.
Analysis
drama (from greek 'drama', meaning 'action, deed, play on the stage'); ize (verb-forming suffix from greek '-izein' via latin '-izare', meaning 'to make, to become, to act like').