acted

past tense of act
1
2
as in worked
to produce a desired effect the painkiller acted surprisingly quickly

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3
4
as in served
to have a certain purpose the tail feathers of woodpeckers act as props while the birds excavate tree trunks for insects

Synonyms & Similar Words

5
6
as in mocked
to pretend to be (what one is not) in appearance or behavior someone who is willing to act the helpless little thing when she wants attention

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of acted He was bounced before the fourth quarter and acted like a principled victim. Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 The case led in 2022 to investigations of four German museums that in some cases unwittingly acted as intermediaries for sales between the dealers and art museums worldwide. Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 25 Aug. 2026 And Cooper temporarily prevented the venue from closing during construction by ruling that the board had acted too hastily. Bart Jansen, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026 According to Entertainment Weekly, Tsai hasn’t acted since the film’s release. Kate Hogan, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026 That team ultimately brought charges against Snyder and other key officials, presenting their evidence to a judge who acted as a one-person grand jury. ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026 Rather than panic, Bruney remembered a weak spot and acted almost instinctively. Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026 Lloyd’s wife, Sheila O’Keefe, has given up her job and acted has Lloyd’s full-time caregiver. Jaeden Pinder, Rolling Stone, 24 Aug. 2026 Those unaffected by trauma may also be surprised to hear how the person acted in the moment. Michele Patterson Ford, The Conversation, 19 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acted
Verb
  • Jack Coleman, who played her father on the NBC drama, shared an emotional tribute on Instagram.
    Jack Dunn, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The Hunger Games prequel Sunrise on the Reaping is taking fans of the dystopian franchise back to Panem for the Second Quarter Quell, in which one Haymitch Abernathy (now played by Aussie actor Joseph Zada) will be forced to fight for his life.
    Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The Dream Box itself is tribute to her original mentor and uncle, Bill Owens, who has worked tirelessly to preserve the American Chestnut tree.
    Isabelle Farina, Variety, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Advertisement The Wagoner band worked constantly, and Parton learned how to hold her own onstage and in the studio.
    Shima Oliaee, Time, 26 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Other Surrealists, meanwhile, seemed to take from animals a license to exploit other (generally female) bodies, as in Clovis Trouille’sJustine(1937), in which both a naked female figure and a lion are bound and captive.
    Kelly Presutti, ARTnews.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • To the outside observer, the hearing for the soft-spoken man with the graying mustache may have seemed like any other, save for the FBI agents from the public corruption squad sitting in the back.
    Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Moody, who served as Florida’s attorney general when the settlement was approved, struck a more reserved note, appearing to distance herself from the investigation.
    Liv Caputo, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026
  • If inmates served jail time and posted bond, staff were instructed to contact immigration officials, the newspaper reported.
    Rachel Spacek, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Once upon a time, Republicans understood this, or at least pretended to.
    New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The individual pretended to be from the Federal Trade Commission and told the victims to take funds out of their account and put it into a cryptocurrency kiosk, staying on the phone with them to avoid detection by bank tellers, officials said.
    Dan Raby, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Barney & Friends, the enormously popular and widely mocked PBS series about a singing, dancing purple dinosaur, is the obvious touchstone for the children’s-show-as-hellscape in the new movie Buddy.
    Alison Willmore, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Trump has all but severed America’s system of alliances, mocked and bullied Ukraine’s president, and showered praise upon Kim Jong Un.
    Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Timberlake last performed on stage at the Recording Academy Honors in January to celebrate collaborator Pharrell Williams.
    Lynette Rice, Deadline, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Milton takes clear lead in QB2 battle Both backup quarterbacks performed well in the preseason opener in Seattle, and both went into the week of practice continuing to split reps with the second-team offense.
    Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • For decades, the OTC market operated largely outside that framework.
    Cromwell Coulson, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2026
  • More pertinently, Leeds United operated in the same formation in their 2-1 victory at Old Trafford in April, attacking down the sides and firing over crosses.
    Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Acted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acted. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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