acted

past tense of act
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2
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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
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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 In the end, Frizer was found to have acted in self-defense and officially pardoned by the Queen. Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025 Meyer has also appeared on Designated Survivor (2018), The Fix (2019), and Good Girls (2021), and acted in films including Changeland (2019), Unpregnant (2020), and The Enormity of Life (2021). Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Sep. 2025 This one may have tugged at your deepest insecurities around intimacy, trust, and vulnerability, pushing you to face the places where pride has sometimes acted as a shield. Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 7 Sep. 2025 Shirehjini was arrested Thursday at his home in Sherman Oaks alongside another man, Andranik Avetisyan, who police said acted as the getaway driver. Jack Moore, ABC News, 6 Sep. 2025 She is well matched with Waller, who was a real find by casting director Fiona Weir in the north of England and had never acted. Pete Hammond, Deadline, 6 Sep. 2025 Goto is a Japanese professional wrestler who has also acted, appearing in projects like the 2016 Indonesian action film, Headshot. Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 6 Sep. 2025 The Ku Klux Klan and other white terror groups acted as a paramilitary arm of the Democratic Party, intent on driving the Republican Party out of Southern politics. Time, 5 Sep. 2025 In 2006, Congress acted to strengthen and expand FEMA. Arthur L. Kellermann, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acted
Verb
  • The Falcons played their opener two weeks ago and then had a bye.
    Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 9 Sep. 2025
  • The team behind the research noted that many of these genes are tied to developmental delay, which may have played a role in the slower pace of postnatal brain growth in humans compared to chimpanzees.
    Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Founded by Keith and Brooke Desserich who lost their 5-year-old daughter Elena to brain cancer, The Cure Starts Now first worked with Graeter's in 2007 to develop an ice cream flavor in honor of the couple's daughter, called Elena’s Blueberry Pie ice cream.
    Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 3 Sep. 2025
  • For approximately 25 years, Lee worked on international legal cases to combat injustice and promote human rights, achieving notable success in the high-level world of international courts.
    Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • While Schneider was expressing his feelings about the unknown state of Judge’s normally rocket arm, the Yankees seemed weary about answering these kind of inquiries.
    Larry Fleisher, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • At the 2015 ceremony, the two seemed to temporarily bury the hatchet when Swift presented West with the 2015 Video Vanguard Award.
    Kate Hogan, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Try the curry and other unlisted offerings Cranston’s favorite is Japanese curry, a mildly spiced and slightly sweet, rich brown curry sauce served with steamed rice.
    Lennie Omalza, The Courier-Journal, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Republican strategist David Oman, who served as her finance chair in 2014, said her departure wasn’t a shock after months of speculation but still marks a major moment for Iowa politics.
    Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • California Schemin’ is based on the true story of two Scottish friends, Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, who pretended to be a California rap duo, Silibil N’ Brains, to realize their dream of hip-hop stardom.
    Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
  • No one pretended when Johnny Carson or others retired that the new group would replace them.
    Ted Johnson, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Lopez noted and mocked Johnson’s comments, sarcastically asking why the mayor didn’t blame it on other historic phenomena.
    Washington Examiner Staff, The Washington Examiner, 4 Sep. 2025
  • During the jail call in question, Thug mocked Glo’s looks for being compared to Rihanna.
    Michael Saponara, Billboard, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The veteran has at times performed for the Padres, but his latest clunker — Cortes yielded six runs over 2 1/3 innings — continued an alarming trend for a rotation that has gone nine consecutive games without an outing of more than five innings.
    Dennis Lin, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Paramedics performed life-saving measures on the boy, but couldn't save him; he was pronounced dead at the scene.
    KC Baker, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Late in the second set at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Anisimova had looked spent.
    Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
  • In the post, the 14-year-old looked all grown up, wearing a pink crop top with blue jeans with a white belt.
    Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Acted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acted. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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