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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 Her brother, actor Jansen Panetierre, died at the age of 28 in 2023. — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 18 Aug. 2026 His case has been the subject of documentaries and true-crime podcasts and garnered celebrity attention from Kim Kardashian and actors Hilarie Burton and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who all support his exoneration. — ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026 And for the viewer, or at least for me, the pain of losing the character is tempered by not losing the actor. — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2026 Christopher Pettiet, an actor Suplee knew from Hollywood in the 1990s, died of an accidental overdose in April 2000, according to Suplee. — Angelique Brenes, PEOPLE, 18 Aug. 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
  • Now, as her family, friends and fans mourn, questions remain about what happened in the actress’ final hours before her death at age 36, far from home at an apartment in South Carolina.
    — Julianna Bragg, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Best actor, meanwhile, went to Adrian Văncică for You Don’t Belong Here, which comes with the same cash prize as best actress.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of actress
Noun
  • Before even beginning their workout, nearly every participant in Sylvia Borowska’s recent Liftonic class was crying.
    — Sneha Dhandapani, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The move prompted a rather overheated response from market participants and commentators, as either a bad look for a Treasury Secretary who had charged his predecessor with untoward massaging of market rates, or too small to matter, or both.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of participant
Noun
  • Naturally, growing up around music and holding onto my love of it, becoming a singer and performer came naturally.
    — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Almost every great performer is at some point in their life delusional.
    — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of performer
Noun
  • The tinted windows looked out onto the courts where Richardson trained some of the best young female players in the Rio Grande Valley, but the glass was one-way, and from outside, nothing that happened in the room was visible.
    — Molly Hensley-Clancy, Washington Post, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Muyumba scored the go-ahead goal in the 78th on a counterattack to become the ninth player in club history to score in three straight games.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of player
Noun
  • Three additional cuts by the powerhouse entertainer have broken into the top 10 without soaring all the way to the summit.
    — Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
  • The 30-year-old entertainer, whose real name is Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, learned on Friday that prosecutors intend to try him for a second time on the charges.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Aug. 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
  • The latest entry to cross the pond is unlikely to reap similar success despite the presence of Claire Foy and Andrew Garfield in leading roles and a supporting cast featuring some of England’s finest thespians.
    — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Here’s why that’s unlikely to happen, and a ranking of the thespians most likely to land more than one Oscar nod.
    — Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of thespian

Browse Nearby Words

activity
actor
actorish
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Actor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/actor. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on actor

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about actor

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of devolve

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All