as in to misconduct
to behave badly
because his parents spent so much time with his chronically ill sister, the boy resorted to acting out in order to get attention
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of act out
Administration officials have argued Ross acted out of self-defense, alleging Good was impeding federal law enforcement.
—
Amie Parnes, The Hill, 18 Jan. 2026
First, trying to sneak live streamers into practice, and then appearing on the stream to criticize NFL officials and act out a touchdown dance at the suggestion of a streamer that had anti-Semitic undertones, which Nacua later denounced.
—Nate Atkins, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026
His observations about the barbarity of women’s beauty regimens aren’t exactly new, but they are acted out with enthusiasm and verve.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2026
There's other ways to go around trying to overcome a relationship struggle than to try and take a violent act out against another person.
—Erika Stanish, CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for act out
Amie Parnes, The Hill, 18 Jan. 2026
First, trying to sneak live streamers into practice, and then appearing on the stream to criticize NFL officials and act out a touchdown dance at the suggestion of a streamer that had anti-Semitic undertones, which Nacua later denounced.
—Nate Atkins, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026
His observations about the barbarity of women’s beauty regimens aren’t exactly new, but they are acted out with enthusiasm and verve.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2026
There's other ways to go around trying to overcome a relationship struggle than to try and take a violent act out against another person.
—Erika Stanish, CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for act out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for act out
Verb
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Regulators also reviewed incidents in which the vehicles appeared to disobey traffic control devices.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
4 Feb. 2026
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The country's Supreme Court of Justice removed him from office in 2017 and sentenced him to prison for disobeying a court order to remove barricades during protests against the government of then-President Nicolás Maduro.—
Patricia Gallagher Newberry,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Just as Aleys’s mother passed on her passion for books and Alouette pursued her passion for beauty, Marte will carry on a passion for stories.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
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The package, which passed the Senate 71-29, would complete funding for the government to the tune of more than $1 trillion — except DHS, which will carry on with a two-week stopgap bill as Democrats demand guardrails on immigration enforcement operations.—
David Hickey,
NBC news,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Likewise, when the young men started acting up, Josephine Holt took a keen interest in her newspaper.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Jan. 2026
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If your trackpad is acting up, keyboard shortcuts can keep you productive without fighting the cursor.—
Ken Colburn,
AZCentral.com,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The end of the prohibition came earlier than originally planned as a group of moderate Republicans rebelled against leadership in September, winning a concession to shorten the length of the pause by two months.—
Jared Gans,
The Hill,
22 Jan. 2026
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Certainly heroic for repeatedly rebelling against a murderous regime armed to the teeth.—
Melik Kaylan,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Act out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/act%20out. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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