act out

verb

acted out; acting out; acts out

transitive verb

1

a

: to represent in action

children act out what they read

b

: to translate into action

unwilling to act out their beliefs

2

: to express (something, such as an impulse or a fantasy) directly in overt behavior without modification to comply with social norms

intransitive verb

: to behave badly or in a socially unacceptable often self-defeating manner especially as a means of venting painful emotions (such as fear or frustration)

Synonyms of act out

• misconduct
• disobey
• carry on
• run riot
• act up
• rebel
• raise Cain

Examples of act out in a Sentence

because his parents spent so much time with his chronically ill sister, the boy resorted to acting out in order to get attention

Recent Examples on the Web

Abarca claimed that White was acting out an ongoing vendetta against him. — Ilana Arougheti july 21, Kansas City Star, 21 July 2026

And the trailer shows how idyllic the four victims’ college experience was until Bryan Kohberger (who has pled guilty to the murders) seemingly picked them at random to act out his serial-killer obsession. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 15 July 2026

Kids ages 9 and up will spend hours acting out scenes as Cinderella and Gus with this Lego set. — Mia Huelsbeck, PEOPLE, 4 July 2026

Whether it’s induced by the unknown or past experiences, dogs may shake, tremble, bark, act out or hide when in distress. — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 2 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1616, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Rhymes for act out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout

Kids Definition

act out

verb

1

: to represent in action

children act out what they read

2

: to behave badly especially as a way of letting out painful emotions

Medical Definition

act out

transitive verb

(ˈ)akt-ˈau̇t 

: to express (as an impulse or a fantasy) directly in overt behavior without modification to comply with social norms

act out an adolescent fantasy

intransitive verb

: to behave badly or in a socially unacceptable often self-defeating manner especially as a means of venting painful emotions (as fear or frustration)