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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

make a scene en · VERB

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic) To bring unnecessary attention to oneself, especially through a public expression of tumultuous emotion.
    • This time I had really hurt my son. Youqing wasn’t upset because I had hit him, but because I had made a scene in front of so many of his teachers and classmates. 2003, Michael Berry, transl., To Live, New York: Knopf Doubleday, translation of 活着 [Huózhe] by Yu Hua, page 125:
    • The next time I saw Miss Churm after this incident she surprised me greatly by making a scene about it—she accused me of having wished to humiliate her. 1893, Henry James, “The Real Thing”, in The Real Thing and Other Tales, New York: Macmillan, page 25:
    • I saw, though he tried to conceal it, that he was very much hurt at your behaviour, and I was sure, by his looks, that he did not think my jealous apprehension groundless; however, he protested he did, and persuaded me not to make a scene by arriving her in the middle of the night […] 1814, Elizabeth Hervey, Amabel; or, Memoirs of a Woman of Fashion, volume 2, part 8, London: Henry Colburn, page 287:
    • She snuggled against me, while from the other side a boy was amateurishly trying to pick my pocket. I opened my mouth to protest, but thought better of it. Why make a scene at the end of such an enjoyable evening? 1935, Christopher Isherwood, chapter 3, in Mr Norris Changes Trains, Penguin, published 1961, page 32:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
making a scene Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
makes a scene Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
made a scene Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
made a scene Tense=Past lexicographic

Relateds

make a spectacle of oneself · make a big thing out of

Translations (18)

es acarrear un escándalo (bring unnecessary attention to oneself) · fr faire une scène (bring unnecessary attention to oneself) · es desatar un escándalo (bring unnecessary attention to oneself) · es montar un escándalo (bring unnecessary attention to oneself) · pt fazer uma cena (bring unnecessary attention to oneself) · hu jelenetet rendez (bring unnecessary attention to oneself) · es montar un numerito (bring unnecessary attention to oneself) · fr faire des histoires (bring unnecessary attention to oneself) · id berbuat ulah (bring unnecessary attention to oneself) · es dar la nota (bring unnecessary attention to oneself) · ta சீன் போடு (bring unnecessary attention to oneself) · cmn 大吵大鬧 /大吵大闹 (bring unnecessary attention to oneself) · es armar un escándalo (bring unnecessary attention to oneself) · es montar el pollo (bring unnecessary attention to oneself) · es montar un show (bring unnecessary attention to oneself) · pt dar um show (bring unnecessary attention to oneself) · es producir un escándalo (bring unnecessary attention to oneself) · fi järjestää kohtaus (bring unnecessary attention to oneself)