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
The kid acts up, the dad disciplines him and mom just sends a sorry text.
—
Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for act up
Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for act up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for act up
Verb
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Others abused alcohol and drugs, were separated and divorced, or acted out violently.—
Arianna Huffington,
Fortune,
6 Nov. 2025
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As the five-year case unfolded, Betty continually lost court battles and continued to act out.—
Alex Gurley,
PEOPLE,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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ConocoPhillips announced plans to cut up to 25% of its global staff.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
5 Jan. 2026
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Meanwhile, as all of this is happening, Meredith is cutting up with the other ladies at the spa, without a care in the world.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
31 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Moore turns her daughter around and shows off her backside, which is also covered in poop.—
Hannah Sacks,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
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The 21st annual Dine Downtown starts Friday, with more than 30 Sacramento restaurants showing off their chops with unique, limited-time prix fixe menus.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Hours after the shooting, Noem defended the ICE officer who shot Good, saying the woman had blocked federal officers with her SUV and disobeyed orders to get out of her vehicle.—
Juliana Kim,
NPR,
9 Jan. 2026
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In response, the Indiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Pakota Valley, filed a new lawsuit against the policy and filed a motion alleging the city is disobeying court orders.—
Cate Charron,
IndyStar,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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At this point in time, my little AI company, a lean and mean group of passionate believers, is horsing around fine-tuning the product, living on a couple of angel investments, where a 10X return on few million dollars is very satisfying, not only to the angel, but also to the employees.—
Neil Senturia,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Oct. 2025
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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
Verb
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Coalition members also agreed to carry on with long-term military support for Ukraine and pledged defense cooperation, including training, defense production and intelligence sharing.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
7 Jan. 2026
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The notebook includes not just copies of letters in the Watkins papers but Virginia’s meticulous record of her fact-checking and her correspondence with Polly about the book’s success, spin-offs, sequels, and other projects carrying on to Polly’s death in 1962.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Act up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/act%20up. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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