to tug at sb's heartstrings
51pretend — Synonyms and related words: act, act a part, adopt, affect, aim to, allege, appropriate, arrogate, assume, attempt, attempt to, avow, bluff, challenge, claim, counterfeit, cover up, dare, dare to, dissemble, dissimulate, do a bit, dramatize,… …
52put on — Synonyms and related words: Parthian shot, accelerate, act, act a part, administer, affect, affectation, affected, affectedness, airs, airs and graces, apocryphal, apply, apply to, artificial, artificiality, assume, assumed, back answer, banter,… …
53sham — Synonyms and related words: Tartuffery, Tartuffism, act, act a part, acting, adulterated, affect, affectation, affected, affectedness, airs, airs and graces, alibi, ape, apocryphal, apology, appearance, artificial, artificiality, assume, assumed …
54simulate — Synonyms and related words: act, act a part, act like, adopt, affect, ape, appear like, approach, appropriate, approximate, assume, be like, be redolent of, bear resemblance, bluff, borrow, bring to mind, call to mind, call up, chorus, come close …
55affect — I v 1. influence, sway, act on, play on, work on, impress upon, impact upon, effect; change, alter, modify, transform; concern, interest, be of interest to, be of importance to, apply to, relate to, pertain to. 2. touch, stir, move, soften, melt …
56dramatize — v 1. stage, mount, put on, produce; theatricalize; melodramatize. 2. emote, emotionalize, tug the heartstrings; rant, spout, roar, declaim, out Herod Herod; act, enact, perform, play a part, play to the gallery; affect, playact, put up a front;… …
57move — v 1. budge, stir, change place or position; shift, yield, give way, move over. 2. flit, fly, hie, hop, dart; zoom, vroom, whoosh, sweep, skim, skim along, Sl. breeze in or out or along; wend, meander, gad, gad about. 3. advance, progress, go, go… …
58overpower — v 1. overcome, overwhelm, floor, dumfound, daze, stagger, stupefy, stun, nonplus, take aback; Inf. knock off one s feet, Inf. bowl over, Sl. knock for a loop, Inf. blow one s mind; move, stir, affect, touch, touch to the quick; reach, Inf. get or …
59pierce — v 1. penetrate, puncture, pass through or into, transpierce; enter, tunnel, bore, drill; perforate, make a hole or holes in, punch, honeycomb, riddle; run through, stab, lancinate, prick, stick, pink, gore; cut, gash, slit, gride. See also… …
60prick — n 1. puncture, perforation, hole, pinhole, pock, pit, nick, gouge, groove. 2. sting, smart, prickle, tingle, tickle, ache, pain, hurt, discomfort. 3. point, rowel, spur, barb, barbule, prong, tine, spike. v 4. pierce, puncture, perforate, make a… …
