act up

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of act up Clarke Schmidt’s back acted up, and then his shoulder. Brendan Kuty, The Athletic, 25 Mar. 2025 Mount Spurr, located about 75 miles West of Anchorage, has been acting up in recent weeks, prompting officials at the U.S. Geological Survey and Alaska Volcano Observatory to issue a yellow alert. Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 14 Mar. 2025 The elbows acted up again this past offseason, forcing Stanton to stop swinging a few weeks before reporting to spring training. Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 14 Mar. 2025 The sisters may have spent weeks teasing the first single off their new album through several funny little videos and familiar-looking album art, but the tell-tale sign of new Haim music is when the weather gets good and people feel like acting up. Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for act up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for act up
Verb
  • Puppies often chew shoes to soothe their gums when teething, while dogs lacking physical or mental stimulation may act out to get a reaction.
    Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 July 2025
  • Fear around the upcoming adjustment, anticipatory anxiety, and positive emotions such as excitement can also trigger them to act out.
    Sherri Gordon, Parents, 24 June 2025
Verb
  • National media reports in the last few weeks indicated Trump will dissolve the EPA's Office of Research and Development and cut up to 75% of its jobs.
    Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
  • Other parts of the plan to cut up to $37 million from TSU's budget include reductions in non-instructional staff that would save $6-7 million and instructional staff cuts that would account for another $5-6 million.
    Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
Verb
  • Wimbledon was a font of enviable wrist candy again this week, with celebrities showing off some stellar watches courtside.
    Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 12 July 2025
  • Simpson took to Instagram to show off her birthday look.
    Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 12 July 2025
Verb
  • Umberto Rispoli squeezed between horses around the top of the stretch and then rode Journalism to a tremendous rally.
    Baltimore Sun staff, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 2025
  • Fayetteville Sad Palomino’s Will King releases a collection of home recordings In between horsing around with his longtime band Sad Palomino, Will King has been recording and trying to decide the best way to share songs, mostly written during winters from 2020 to 2025.
    Monica Hooper, Arkansas Online, 25 May 2025
Verb
  • 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
  • Her word was law and anyone who disobeyed it was punished.
    Carolyn Wells, Longreads, 27 June 2025
Verb
  • 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
  • Keep calm and carry on into the second half of the year, investors.
    Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 1 July 2025
Verb
  • The passage of the 13th Amendment roughly six months later was the final legislation ensuring the freedom of all enslaved African Americans in the nation: both those in rebelling Confederate states and those belonging to the Union.
    Mackenzie Thomas, The Washington Examiner, 16 June 2025
  • But rank-and-file Democratic lawmakers rebelled and Newsom abandoned the effort.
    George Skelton, Mercury News, 3 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Act up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/act%20up. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.

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