as in to raise hell
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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Recent Examples of act out
Fellow New Jersey Democrat Rep. LaMonica McIver, acting out at the same scrum, was also arrested and charged with assaulting and impeding federal agents.
—
Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 23 June 2025
Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien told a panel last week that if Trump does act out, leaders should ignore him and remain calm like Carney did in his recent Oval Office meeting.
—Rob Gillies, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2025
Up to now, Lin said, most scholars have assumed that toxic bosses act out unintentionally and by accident: They’re burned out, overtaxed or having a bad day.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 6 June 2025
Comments Midway through season 6 of Boy Meets World, Rider Strong recalls feeling tired of acting out dramatic storylines for his character Shawn Hunter.
—Daysia Tolentino, EW.com, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for act out
Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 23 June 2025
Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien told a panel last week that if Trump does act out, leaders should ignore him and remain calm like Carney did in his recent Oval Office meeting.
—Rob Gillies, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2025
Up to now, Lin said, most scholars have assumed that toxic bosses act out unintentionally and by accident: They’re burned out, overtaxed or having a bad day.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 6 June 2025
Comments Midway through season 6 of Boy Meets World, Rider Strong recalls feeling tired of acting out dramatic storylines for his character Shawn Hunter.
—Daysia Tolentino, EW.com, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for act out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for act out
Verb
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Summer classes and programs are still underway in South Florida and the county’s school zone cameras are still active, just waiting to mail you a ticket for disobeying the speed zone.—
Cordell Jones
July 6,
Miami Herald,
6 July 2025
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Her word was law and anyone who disobeyed it was punished.—
Carolyn Wells,
Longreads,
27 June 2025
Verb
-
Keep calm and carry on into the second half of the year, investors.—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
1 July 2025
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Provide Predictable Signals Of Stability As Martin Seligman mentioned in his positive psychology research, the London air-raid sirens during WWII were so reliable as a signal that people were willing to go out and carry on even though bombs landed unpredictably.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
Verb
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His calf was acting up and a decision was taken last Thursday for him and Inter’s other players with niggling injuries — Yann Bisseck, Piotr Zielinski and Benjamin Pavard — to leave the Club World Cup early.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
2 July 2025
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Floral and spicy notes bring to mind a meadow in full bloom (without making your allergies act up, thankfully).—
Danielle Sinay,
Glamour,
28 May 2025
Verb
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Wait, there’s a both-sides approach to the company and the workers rebelling against it?—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
25 June 2025
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Newsweek Contributors Debate For decades, Iranians have organized, protested, and rebelled for greater freedom.—
Nuri Kino,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Act out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/act%20out. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
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