act out
verb
acted out; acting out; acts out
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
: 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)
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
Scenarios are acted out involving a rabbit who enjoys frequenting the circus and a ticket-taker bear who relishes enforcing the rules with all his brutal might.
—
Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2025
Prosecutors told the court that Vallow Daybell had acted out of self-interest, not self-preservation, with plans to cash in on her estranged husband’s $1 million life insurance policy.
—Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 24 Apr. 2025
In February 2022, U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff rejected Palin's claims in a ruling issued while a jury deliberated, saying Palin had failed to show that the Times had acted out of malice, something required in libel lawsuits involving public figures.
—CBS News, 22 Apr. 2025
Sides were separated, and the officials determined nobody had acted out enough to warrant an ejection.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for act out
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Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2025
Prosecutors told the court that Vallow Daybell had acted out of self-interest, not self-preservation, with plans to cash in on her estranged husband’s $1 million life insurance policy.
—Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 24 Apr. 2025
In February 2022, U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff rejected Palin's claims in a ruling issued while a jury deliberated, saying Palin had failed to show that the Times had acted out of malice, something required in libel lawsuits involving public figures.
—CBS News, 22 Apr. 2025
Sides were separated, and the officials determined nobody had acted out enough to warrant an ejection.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for act out
Cite this Entry
“Act out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/act%20out. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
act out
transitive verb
: to express (as an impulse or a fantasy) directly in overt behavior without modification to comply with social norms
act out an adolescent fantasy
: to behave badly or in a socially unacceptable often self-defeating manner especially as a means of venting painful emotions (as fear or frustration)
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