1
as in to act out
to behave badly
the two-year-old was acting up in church so much that her dad had to take her outside
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to cut up
to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior
you should have seen the boys acting up when they put on their aprons
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of act up
Then the engine started acting up, which would have cost up to $10,000 to fix.
—
Shannon Pettypiece, NBC news, 22 Sep. 2025
Lots of time spent acting up and acting out with your family.
—Outside Online, 3 Sep. 2025
Johnson, who struggles with a neuroma, swears by her Oofos mules to keep it from acting up.
—Jennifer Heimlich, SELF, 29 Aug. 2025
Millennials are all about heading to the doctor’s office when their guts start acting up—and both experts agreed that’s a positive thing.
—Alisa Hrustic, Health, 29 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for act up
Shannon Pettypiece, NBC news, 22 Sep. 2025
Lots of time spent acting up and acting out with your family.
—Outside Online, 3 Sep. 2025
Johnson, who struggles with a neuroma, swears by her Oofos mules to keep it from acting up.
—Jennifer Heimlich, SELF, 29 Aug. 2025
Millennials are all about heading to the doctor’s office when their guts start acting up—and both experts agreed that’s a positive thing.
—Alisa Hrustic, Health, 29 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for act up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for act up
Verb
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Family described Wilks as an only son who was acting out of his character, which is normally soft-spoken and well-mannered.—
David Clarey,
jsonline.com,
10 Oct. 2025
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Day-Lewis often acted out dialogue, as speed typist Ronan took everything down on the computer.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Authorities believe it was cut up and sold, AP reported.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
1 Oct. 2025
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They also aren’t burdened with making sure any of their shots match, since in essence any take can be cut up into a master, close-ups, two-shots, or whatever else Cameron decides.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Military watchers play close attention to what North Korea chooses to show off at such events.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
9 Oct. 2025
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An additional selfie-style photo shows the couple flashing their new status as fiancées as Deahl shows off her engagement ring featuring a sizeable diamond.—
Diana Leyva,
USA Today,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Running or horsing around with sparklers can also cause injuries and burns when users trip and fall.—
Justin Laube,
EverydayHealth.com,
2 July 2025
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Heath Ryan, who represented Australia in dressage at the 2008 Olympics, can be seen in the video – which the rider said is about two years old – hitting a horse around 40 times.—
Matias Grez,
CNN Money,
13 June 2025
Verb
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Under military law, service members are obligated to obey lawful orders, but to disobey unlawful orders.—
Ellie Cook,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
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Washington made the move over Petro’s participation in a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York City, as well as his call for US troops deployed in American cities to disobey orders.—
Semafor Events,
semafor.com,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Basini played a key role in striking TF1’s distribution deal with Netflix — the first time a European free-to-air leader will see its channels and on-demand service carried on the global streamer — starting in 2026.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Oct. 2025
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Despite the new name, this laptop carries on the modern XPS redesign that first debuted in 2023.—
Matthew Buzzi,
PC Magazine,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Still, Johnson can try to block the discharge effort in the Rules Committee, though the panel has rebelled against him in the past.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
7 Oct. 2025
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The Arts and Crafts movement rebelled against factory drudgery and mass production.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Act up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/act%20up. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
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