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actor

noun

ˈak-tər How to pronounce actor (audio)
Definition of actornext
1
as in actress
one who acts professionally (as in a play, movie, or television show) my sister went to drama school to become an actor

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in participant
one who takes part in something Benjamin Franklin was a major actor in many of the events leading up to the founding of our nation

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 actor Tom Cruise’s Digger Press Tour Kicks Off With a Whole Lot of Nothing The actor went long and incoherent in a rare longform interview that seems like a taste of the Oscars race to come. — Britina Cheng, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026 Swift, wearing a red-and-white gingham dress, sat in Kelce’s luxury box next to legendary actor Tom Cruise, who attended his first game in Kansas City. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026 As Layla El-Faouly in the Disney+ miniseries Moon Knight, the Egyptian-Palestinian actor May Calamawy gave a convincing, emotionally potent performance in English. — Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026 With her win, the 79-year-old actor becomes the oldest to win in the category, a record previously held by Jessica Tandy. — Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for actor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for actor
  1. actress
  2. participant
  3. performer
  4. player
  5. entertainer
  6. participator
  7. thespian
Noun
  • The actress was not looking to become the quirky best friend character, a trope that director Claire Scanlon and writers Sarah Rothschild and Hazelwood were not interested in rehashing.
    — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The actresses alternate between the roles of Electra/Elisabeth and Clytemnestra/Alma each night, depending on a coin toss.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of actress
Noun
  • Like all the other participants in the beginning class, Bugumba also has an artistic bent, bringing a tumbler artistically decorated with cat logos and a phone case covered with feline pictures.
    — Janice Neumann, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026
  • The brand used smaller-scale settings to facilitate exchange and give participants more space to interact, while a continuous series of activities allowed individual encounters to develop into relationships.
    — Advertorial, Footwear News, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of participant
Noun
  • But Caminero — who is only 23 years old — was the first repeat performer, winning unanimously both times.
    — Marc Topkin, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 Sep. 2026
  • His host was Jay Footlik, another ex-performer who’d had a propitious second career.
    — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of performer
Noun
  • Documentaries then were about little violin players in Vienna — a bit slow.
    — Merle Ginsberg, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Recently, Edison led the fourth annual WNBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago, which boasted more than 30,000 fans, 35 partnership activations and more than 150 player and talent appearances.
    — WWD Staff, Footwear News, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of player
Noun
  • The other three candidates for entertainer of the year are Luke Combs, Cody Johnson and Chris Stapleton.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Swift went on to win entertainer of the year in 2009 and 2011.
    — Bryan West, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of entertainer
Noun
  • And in doing so, Gunther often lulls crowds into becoming sporting event spectators rather than the raucous participators that most other wrestlers try to draw out of them.
    — Sean Neumann, PEOPLE, 12 Dec. 2025
Definition of participator
Noun
  • Marion Bailey, as Amy’s mother, has already emerged from Telluride as a standout, a veteran thespian never given her proper due.
    — Clayton Davis, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Tim Curry, the shape-shifting English thespian whose entertainment career never failed to defy industry expectations, has died at 80 years old, according to reports from multiple outlets.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of thespian

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activity
actor
actorish
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Cite this Entry

“Actor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/actor. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on actor

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about actor

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