Main Entry: act out

Function: verb

Date: 1611

transitive verb

1 a : to represent in action <children act out what they read> b : to translate into action <unwilling to act out their beliefs>
2 : to express (as an impulse or a fantasy) directly in overt behavior without modification to comply with social normsintransitive verb : to behave badly or in a socially unacceptable often self-defeating manner especially as a means of venting painful emotions (as fear or frustration)