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countable and uncountable, plural pantomimes
(now rare) A Classical comic actor, especially one who works mainly through gesture and mime. quotations
[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
(historical) The drama in ancient Greece and Rome featuring such performers; or (later) any of various kinds of performance modelled on such work.
(UK) 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. quotations examples
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
Gesturing without speaking; dumb-show, mime. quotations examples
#*: 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
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, Abacus, published 2010, page 26
third-person singular simple present pantomimes, present participle pantomiming, simple past and past participle pantomimed
(transitive) To make (a gesture) without speaking. examples
(transitive) To entertain others by silent gestures or actions. examples