做作 (zuò zuo) — affected, artificial, pretentious

Definition

Means 'affected / pretentious' — someone's behavior (acting, smiling, style) feels fake, exaggerated, or put-on rather than natural. Collocates with 表演, 笑容, 风格; more literary than 装. Antonym: 真实. Definitions list captures all senses.

adjective

affectedartificialpretentious

Examples

做作，。
Tā de biǎo yǎn hěn zuò zuo, yì diǎn yě bú zì rán.
Her performance was very affected, not natural at all.
做作，。
Wǒ jué de tā de xiào róng yǒu diǎn zuò zuo, xiàng shì zhuāng chū lái de.
I think his smile is a bit artificial, as if it's put on.
做作。
Zhè zhǒng zuò zuo de fēng gé wǒ bú tài xǐ huan.
I don't really like this pretentious style.