Definition of "dramatize" [dram•a•tize]

• To adapt (a literary work) for dramatic presentation, as in a theater or on television or radio. (verb-transitive)
• To present or view in a dramatic or melodramatic way. (verb-transitive)
• To be adaptable to dramatic form. (verb-intransitive)
• To indulge in self-dramatization. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I can understand dramatizing/fictionalizing a movie about the Revolutionary War, but when we have actual footage and actual people who survived, why on earth would you need to/want to "dramatize" it?"
• "Medvedev said he would not "dramatize" troubled ties between Russia and NATO and said NATO needs Russia more than Russia needs NATO."
• "Medvedev said he would not "dramatize" troubled ties between Russia and NATO, and warned that NATO needs Russia more than Russia needs NATO."