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

Gen Z is making risky investments The third way Gen Z is acting out against their inability to buy a home, the researchers argue, is by taking on risky investments, like buying cryptocurrencies. —Sydney Lake, Fortune, 12 Dec. 2025

Ahead of her newborn's arrival, Josie made a hilarious video with her husband, acting out a scene that Love Island USA season 7 contestant Amaya Espinal said during the show. —Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 11 Dec. 2025

The panel for HBO‘s forthcoming Game of Thrones prequel series kicked off Thursday in Brazil with a live brass band performing the original show’s iconic theme music as cosplayers acted out aspects of the program. —Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 4 Dec. 2025

After that, Ray began acting out. —Charles Trepany, USA Today, 4 Dec. 2025

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)