Now updated for CSW19. New words, if any, and new inflections of existing words, are shown in red.
| acrobatism | the art of the acrobat. |
| actor | a theatrical performer. |
| actorish | like an actor. |
| actorly | in the manner of an actor > ACTORLIER, ACTORLIEST. |
| actress | a female actor. |
| actressy | like an actress > ACTRESSIER, ACTRESSIEST. |
| aerialist | one who performs on the high wire or trapeze. |
| alma | (Arabic) an Egyptian dancing-girl. |
| almah | (Arabic) an Egyptian dancing-girl. |
| alme | (Arabic) an Egyptian dancing-girl. |
| almeh | (Arabic) an Egyptian dancing-girl. |
| animateur | a person who enlivens or encourages something, especially a promoter of artistic enterprises. |
| artiste | (Fr.) a performing artist; a professional singer, dancer, actor, etc. |
| august | stately, venerable (noun) a white-faced circus clown |
| barnstormer | one who barnstorms. |
| bourder | a jester. |
| burlesk | a ludicrous imitation. |
| burlesquer | one who burlesques. |
| busk | to entertain by singing and dancing. |
| cabaret | a music hall. |
| chansonnier | a cabaret performer of, esp satirical, songs. |
| charade | (Fr.) a written or (now usually) acted clue from which a syllable of a word or a complete word is to be guessed. |
| circus | a public entertainment. |
| circussy | of or like a circus > CIRCUSSIER, CIRCUSSIEST. |
| circusy | of or like a circus > CIRCUSIER, CIRCUSIEST. |
| claque | (Fr.) a group hired to applaud at a performance. |
| claymation | (Tradename) the animation of clay or Plasticene figures. |
| clown | a comic entertainer, esp in the circus; (verb) to act like a clown. |
| clownish | resembling or befitting a clown. |
| clownishly | (Adv.) CLOWNISH, like a clown. |
| clubmaster | the manager of a club. |
| comedian | an actor or player in comedy. |
| comedienne | a women who plays in comedy. |
| comic | amusing (noun) a comedian |
| commere | (Fr.) a female compere. |
| compere | (Fr.) a person who introduces and provides the links between items of an entertainment; (verb) to act as a compere to. |
| coscript | to script jointly. |
| costar | to appear with other stars. |
| croupier | (Fr.) an attendant who collects and pays bets. |
| deejay | (Coll.) disc jockey; (verb) to work as a deejay. |
| designator | an officer who assigned to each his rank and place in public shows and ceremonies. |
| diseur | (Fr.) a (male) reciter or entertainer. |
| diseuse | (Fr.) a female diseur, a reciter. |
| ecdysiast | a striptease performer. |
| emcee | (Coll.) a master of ceremonies; (verb) to act as this. |
| entertainer | one who entertains. |
| eurhythmist | a practitioner of eurhythmics. |
| eurythmist | a person who teaches or practises eurhythmics. |
| filmgoer | one that goes to see motion pictures. |
| filmmaker | one who makes films. |
| floorshow | entertainment of the floor of a nightclub. |
| funambulate | to walk the tightrope. |
| funambulator | a tightrope walker. |
| funnyman | a comedian. |
| gagman | one who writes jokes. |
| gagster | one who tells gags. |
| geisha | (Japanese) a trained hostess who entertains men with conversation, dance and song, etc. |
| gladiator | in ancient Rome, a professional combatant with men or wild animals in the arena. |
| gladiatorial | of or like a gladiator. |
| gladiatorian | (Obs.) of or like a gladiator. |
| gladiatorship | the state of being a gladiator. |
| gladiatory | (Obs.) of or like a gladiator. |
| harlequin | a stock comic character, masked, and dressed in a diamond-patterned multicolored costume; (verb) to play a harlequin. |
| harlequinade | (Fr.) part of a pantomime in which a harlequin plays a chief part. |
| headset | a pair of earphones. |
| hitmaker | a musician who produces bestselling records. |
| humorist | a humorous writer or entertainer. |
| humoristic | of, pertaining to, or resembling, a humorist. |
| hymnist | a person who composes hymns. |
| hymnodist | a person who composes hymns. |
| hypnotiser | one who hypnotises. |
| hypnotizer | one who hypnotizes. |
| illusionist | a person who produces illusory effects. |
| impresario | an organizer, promoter, or manager of public entertainments, such as a ballet, opera, concert, or theater company. |
| impromptu | (Lat.) improvised, spontaneous; (noun) a short piece of impromptu music. |
| jangler | a storyteller, a jester. |
| jester | one that jests. |
| joculator | a professional jester or minstrel. |
| jokesmith | (Arch.) a composer of jokes. |
| jukebox | a coin-operated phonograph. |
| lanternist | a person who works a magic lantern. |
| legerdemain | slight of hand; magic tricks. |
| legerdemainist | one who practises legerdemain. |
| lyricist | one who writes lyrics. |
| majorette | a member of a group of girls who march in parades etc. |
| majoretting | the practice of performing as majorettes. |
| masquer | one who takes part in a masque. |
| mediagenic | able to present a good image in the media. |
| megastar | a superstar. |
| merryman | a zany, a jester. |
| mimer | one that mimes. |
| mimester | one who mimes. |
| minstrelsy | the singing and playing of a minstrel. |
| moviegoer | one who goes to the movies. |
| movieland | the world of the movies. |
| movieoke | an entertainment in which people act out scenes from movies that are silently playing in the background. |
| mumm | to act in a mime. |
| naumachia | (Lat.) a mock sea battle, performed as a spectacle among the ancient Romans. |
| nonmusical | not musical; (noun) a show that is not a musical. |
| onscreen | appearing on screen. |
| pantomime | a type of theatrical entertainment; (verb) to portray or communicate by exaggerated silent gestures or expressions. |
| pantomimic | like a pantomime. |
| pantomimical | like a pantomime. |
| pantomimically | (Adv.) PANTOMIMICAL, like a pantomime. |
| pantomimist | an actor or dancer in pantomimes. |
| patchcocke | (Spenser) perhaps a clown. |
| patchocke | (Spenser) perhaps a clown. |
| peepshow | a small display of pictures etc. viewed through a lens or hole set in a box or machine. |
| pierrette | (Fr.) a female performer in a pierrot group. |
| pinsetter | an employee on a mechanical device that spots pins in a bowling alley. |
| pinspotter | an employee on a mechanical device that spots pins in a bowling alley. |
| playwright | a person who writes plays. |
| populariser | one who popularises. |
| popularizer | one who popularizes. |
| postshow | after a show. |
| premier | prime or first; (noun) a chief in rank or office; (verb) to present or perform (a play, film, etc.) for the first time. |
| prestidigitator | a conjurer. |
| prestigiator | a conjurer. |
| protean | having a varied nature or ability to assume different forms; (noun) a theatrical performer who takes several parts in the same piece. |
| punchinello | (Ital.) a fat short humpbacked clown. |
| puppetry | the art of operating puppets. |
| puzzledom | the domain of puzzles; puzzles, collectively. |
| quizmaster | one who puts the questions to contestants in a quiz show. |
| raconteur | (Fr.) a teller of anecdotes. |
| raconteuse | (Fr.) a female raconteur. |
| raree | as in raree show, a street show or carnival. No -S. |
| remixer | one that remixes (a recording). |
| repertoire | (Fr.) a stock of dramatic parts, tunes, songs, etc. which a performer or company knows or is prepared to perform. |
| repertorial | relating to repertory. |
| repertory | the performance of plays, operas, ballets, etc. by a company at regular short intervals. |
| repetiteuse | a female repetiteur, one who rehearses opera singers. |
| retiarius | (Lat.) a gladiator armed with a net. |
| ringmaster | one in charge of performances in a ring (as of a circus). |
| roadie | a person who works for travelling entertainers. |
| roadshow | a touring group of theatrical or musical performers. |
| sceneshifter | a worker who moves the scenes in a theater. |
| schtick | (Yiddish) a familiar line of chat adapted by a particular comedian. |
| schtik | (Yiddish) a familiar line of chat adapted by a particular comedian. |
| scuddaler | in Shetland, the leader of a band of guisers. |
| scudler | in Shetland, the leader of a band of guisers. |
| selecta | a disc jockey. |
| showbiz | (Short for) show business. |
| showbizzy | of or like showbiz, show business. |
| showgirl | a chorus girl. |
| showgoer | one who goes to shows. |
| showman | a person who exhibits, or owns, a show. |
| showmanly | having the manner of a showman. |
| shtick | (Yiddish) a familiar line of chat adapted by a particular comedian. |
| shticky | like a shtick, a familiar line of chat adapted by a particular comedian. |
| shtik | (Yiddish) a familiar line of chat adapted by a particular comedian. |
| sideshow | a small show offered in addition to a main attraction. |
| singalong | a performance where the audience joins in with a performer. |
| singer | one that sings. |
| skudler | in Shetland, the leader of a band of guisers. |
| slapstick | comedy stressing farce and horseplay. |
| spearcarrier | an extra in a theatrical or operatic production, as one of a group of soldiers or a member of a crowd. |
| spruiker | (Aust. sl.) one who spruiks, harangues people in public. |
| stagehand | a workman employed about the stage. |
| standup | standing before an audience and telling a succession of jokes; (noun) a standup comedian. |
| star | one who excels (verb) to perform as a star |
| stickman | one who supervises the play at a dice table. |
| stooge | an actor who feeds lines to a comedian, etc; (verb) to act as a stooge. |
| storytelling | the craft of telling stories. |
| stripper | one who removes his or clothes for a living. |
| striptease | a burlesque act in which a performer removes clothing piece by piece. |
| stripteaser | one who carries out a striptease. |
| strongman | a person who performs feats of strength, in a circus etc. |
| stuntman | a man who substitutes for an actor in scenes involving dangerous feats. |
| swingboat | a boat-shaped swinging carriage for fairs etc. |
| taleteller | a teller of tales. |
| taletelling | the act of telling stories; the act of gossiping in an indiscreet manner. |
| tamasha | (Urdu) in the Indian subcontinent, an entertainment, a show, a public function. |
| theatergoer | one who visits the theater. |
| tightrope | a taut rope or wire on which feats of balancing and acrobatics are performed. |
| tightwire | a wire tightrope. |
| toastmaster | one who presides at a banquet and introduces the afterdinner speakers. |
| toastmistress | a woman who acts as toastmaster. |
| trapezist | one who performs on a trapeze. |
| tregetour | (Arch.) a juggling magician. |
| troupe | (Fr.) a company or troop, esp the company of performers in a play or an opera; (verb) to travel about as a member of a troupe. |
| trouper | a member of a troupe, an actor, an acrobat, etc. |
| tummler | (Yiddish) one, such as a social director or entertainer, who encourages guest or audience participation. |
| turntablist | a DJ who is skilled in using turntables to obtain distinctive effects from records. |
| twirler | a person who or thing which twirls. |
| underactor | a subordinate actor. |
| usherette | a female usher. |
| vaudevillean | a performer or writer of vaudeville. |
| vaudevillian | a performer or writer of vaudeville. |
| ventriloquist | one who uses or is skilled in ventriloquism. |
| widescreen | denoting a cinema format in which the image is projected onto a wide curved screen to give the viewer a greater sense of actuality in the picture. |
| wirewalker | a tightrope walker. |
| zanily | (Adv.) ZANY, comical. |
| zaniness | comicality. |
| zany | comical (noun) a clown; (verb, obs.) to play the zany to |
| zanyish | like a zany. |
| zanyism | the state or character of a zany; buffoonery. |