From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdramaticdra‧mat‧ic /drəˈmætɪk/ ●●○ W3 AWL adjective 1 SURPRISEDgreat and suddendramatic change/shift/improvement Computers have brought dramatic changes to the workplace.dramatic increase/rise/fall/drop/reduction etc Universities have suffered a dramatic drop in student numbers.dramatic effect/results A serious accident can have a dramatic effect on your family’s finances.2 EXCITEDexciting or impressive A superb goal by Owen earned United a dramatic victory yesterday. Some of the most dramatic events in American history happened here. the dramatic scenery of the Grand Canyon► see thesaurus at exciting3 APTconnected with acting or plays the amateur dramatic society the dramatic arts4 EXCITEDintended to be impressive, so that people notice She needed a stunning dress to help her make a dramatic entrance. Tristan threw up his hands in a dramatic gesture.COLLOCATIONSnounsa dramatic changeThe Internet has brought dramatic changes to the way we work.a dramatic increase/riseThere has been a dramatic rise in fuel costs.a dramatic fall/drop/declineBetween these years there was a dramatic fall in youth employment.a dramatic effect/impactAn accident can have a dramatic effect on your family’s finances.a dramatic improvementThere has been a dramatic improvement in the standard of students’ work.a dramatic shift (=change in the way people think or do something)This announcement signalled a dramatic shift in the government’s policy.a dramatic resultCameras on the streets have produced dramatic results in reducing crime.a dramatic differenceThe programs made a dramatic difference to the lives of millions of people.
Examples from the Corpus
dramatic• With this dramatic and disorienting shift in the way corporations structure themselves comes a change in business Ianguage.• The movie starts with a dramatic car chase across the desert.• What they hadn't bargained for was a sudden and dramatic change in the weather.• the dramatic changes that took place in Eastern Europe• Rosa made a dramatic entrance into the room, wearing a tiny red dress.• Rumpole produced the evidence with a dramatic flourish.• She raised her hands in a dramatic gesture of despair.• The report shows that there have been dramatic improvements in some areas in the past 10 years.• There has been a dramatic increase in homelessness over the past few years.• Stop being so dramatic. It's embarrassing.• There are sudden, dramatic leaps in small children's learning, interspersed with long fallow periods when nothing seems to happen.• There may be other, less dramatic pressures.• Firemen carried out a dramatic rescue of the boy trapped in the burning house.• "Voice of the Heart" is a dramatic story of two women that sweeps from New York to Europe and back again.• The rivers give some of the most dramatic testimony to the lack of rain and snow.• Way too contrived and gooey for most grown-ups, it might well delight youngsters, especially its dramatic underwater sequences.• a collection of Shakespeare's dramatic worksdramatic effect/results• But genetic counseling can have more dramatic results.• He exploited his age, like all his other attributes, to great dramatic effect.• In the Third World, however, the application of a little force or a little money could have dramatic results.• This is sometimes done at discotheques, and it produces some dramatic effects.• By contrast, more dramatic effects are found in people treated with anti-AIDS drugs that attack the virus directly.• This scheme launched enterprises with dramatic results, instead of doling out aid to passive clients.• You might imagine that the findings would have had a dramatic effect on how doctors evaluated remedies, new and old.• This has a dramatic effect on the information management strategy of the organisation.dramatic scenery• It is an island of contrasts with superb climate and dramatic scenery.• The place has always attracted writers and artists and lovers of strange and dramatic scenery.• It has good beaches, dramatic scenery and has even been given the royal nod.• For the ocean may provide dramatic scenery but it does not, in itself, belong centre-stage.dramatic gesture• He knew, says Menotti a little wryly, that it was time for a dramatic gesture.• In a dramatic gesture, Diana pulled out of attending after the split was announced.• It seemed -the least he could do - to deny himself the dramatic gesture, to humiliate himself. 