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 Accordingly, the Court expressly finds that Plaintiffs acted in bad faith. Katherine Faulders, ABC News, 13 July 2026 This is the army’s effort to modernize how battlefield information is collected, transmitted, and acted upon. Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 11 July 2026 But while law enforcement acted swiftly, the two institutions that enabled these transactions have accepted no responsibility. Ari Maas, New York Daily News, 11 July 2026 Prepon acted in The Girl on the Train (2016) with Emily Blunt and The Hero (2017) with Sam Elliott. Gwen Ihnat, Entertainment Weekly, 11 July 2026 And senators haven't acted on a companion measure, waiting to see the political reaction to the House version. Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 10 July 2026 Both the uniform player contract and CBA contain language that permits Silver to punish Leonard if the commissioner concludes Leonard acted wrongly. Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 10 July 2026 After some past shootings by immigration officers, including those in Minneapolis of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, federal officials’ accounts that the officers acted in self-defense have been contradicted by video evidence. Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026 But the village then countered that Hanson’s predecessors and other significant parties had always relied upon and acted as if the original easement agreement were valid. Hank Beckman, Chicago Tribune, 10 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acted
Verb
  • Haiti became the first team in FIFA history to qualify without having played one game at home due to gangs’ takeover of its national stadium and the violence in Port-au-Prince.
    Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 15 July 2026
  • Julian Dennison stars as the troubled Ricky Baker, a kid who ends up on the run with an irascible old man, played by Sam Neill.
    Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 14 July 2026
Verb
  • Brown’s wife was Bruneau’s best friend at the time of the victim’s death, and both women worked as flight attendants for Braniff Airlines, a Grapevine police detective wrote in an arrest warrant affidavit filed in June.
    Amy McDaniel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 July 2026
  • Part of what makes AI so useful in health and medicine is that the technology excels at identifying trends in large swaths of data, said Jason Droege, CEO of Scale AI, which worked with Mayo Clinic to develop Record Time.
    Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 16 July 2026
Verb
  • Even after spending hours at the match and, for many, facing a long commute home, people still seemed energized by the experience.
    Meredith Nierman, NPR, 17 July 2026
  • Despite any accolades that may have come, the environment for an independent artist seemed gloomier than ever.
    Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 17 July 2026
Verb
  • In a statement, historic preservation group Historic KC said the building once served as the headquarters of the Western Newspaper Union, whose services supplied thousands of weekly newspapers through the country in the early 1900s.
    Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 18 July 2026
  • In 2023, she was served a restraining order from the district for sharing teachers’ personal information, which was later revoked, according to previous reporting from The Bee.
    Camryn Dadey, Sacbee.com, 18 July 2026
Verb
  • Barcenas' tea-sipping celebration was a tribute to Alex Morgan, one of the Wave's owners, who pretended to take a sip of tea after scoring in a match against England during the 2019 Women's World Cup.
    ABC News, ABC News, 4 July 2026
  • As the video ended, the actor held Mauz up and pretended to play him like an air guitar.
    Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 1 July 2026
Verb
  • Florida State coach Mike Norvell, hailed for building a behemoth through the portal in 2023, is now never-endingly mocked by rivals.
    Gabriel Burns, AJC.com, 15 July 2026
  • Hilton was quickly mocked, with online commenters pointing out that authentic Mexican street tacos are served in soft tortillas, cooked up by street vendors, and that the hard-shell varieties found in a fast-food chain do not count as the real deal.
    Linh Tat, Daily News, 15 July 2026
Verb
  • The state medical examiner’s office performed an autopsy on July 7 and has been waiting for results from toxicology tests, Lynd said.
    Holly Yan, CNN Money, 20 July 2026
  • Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger, IShowSpeed, and Robbie Williams also performed, and Tom Cruise made a special appearance.
    Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 19 July 2026
Verb
  • The aircraft is operated by the private charter division of Qatar Airways, a World Cup sponsor.
    ABC News, ABC News, 19 July 2026
  • During the tests, four live airdrops were successfully conducted over the course of six days using the transport operated by the RAF.
    David Szondy July 18, New Atlas, 19 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Acted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acted. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

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