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 While the new episodes don’t offer quite the same depth of character or adrenaline rush as the original, the show remains a sharply observed, virtuosically acted, and artfully shot study of human behavior at its ugliest. Judy Berman, Time, 8 July 2026 Defense attorneys maintained Anthony felt threatened and acted in self-defense after Metcalf initiated physical contact. N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 8 July 2026 Taiwan’s development fund acted as founder and patient investor, not operator. James Broughel, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026 Asked about these criticisms during a press conference last Thursday, Rodríguez denied that authorities had acted slowly. Mauricio Torres, CNN Money, 8 July 2026 According to IMDb, Garber also acted alongside Dotrice in The Three Lives of Thomasina (1963) and The Gnome-Mobile (1967). Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026 The monicker is an apparent nod to Stonehenge, an ancient British monument which may have acted as a solar calendar and was the likely site of ancient rituals celebrating the solstice. Sanidhya Sharma, Scientific American, 7 July 2026 The Boise Fire Department acted swiftly Monday to protect a house threatened by the Claremont Fire in the Foothills, according to a news release from the department. Rachel Roberts, Idaho Statesman, 7 July 2026 And in many Indigenous societies, the color, length, and placement of fringe acted as a coat of arms, signifying one’s family, tribe, or position in the community. Faran Krentcil, InStyle, 1 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acted
Verb
  • Kelce played a bully of a restaurant manager who fires a busboy (played by Bad Bunny).
    Amaris Encinas, USA Today, 8 July 2026
  • She has been featured in various TV shows, including an English show called Upstairs, Downstairs (1971), and played Desdemona in Broadway’s Othello before retiring in the early 1980s, per the Walt Disney Archives.
    Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026
Verb
  • When the Wright brothers first flew, the doubt was never about whether the machine worked, but whether flight would ever be something ordinary people used without a second thought.
    Charlotte Kiang, Forbes.com, 9 July 2026
  • The next inning, Campusano worked a two-out walk and scored from first when Andujar roped a single into the left-field corner.
    Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2026
Verb
  • Thiero’s confidence seemed to grow from that point on, his play for the Lakers during their Las Vegas Summer League opener at the Thomas & Mack Center a sign of his development.
    Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026
  • On the field, every at-bat — including a run of 33 consecutive hitless plate appearances — seemed to end in frustration.
    Jesús Cano, New York Times, 10 July 2026
Verb
  • Echo Park residents are mourning the closure of Burrito King, a 58-year-old late-night institution that served generations as a neighborhood anchor, social hub and unofficial after-hours stand.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
  • The recent owner also stripped out interior flourishes added in the late 1990s, when the home served as the Pasadena Showcase House.
    David Hochman, Forbes.com, 10 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
  • The remaining readers are marginalized, mocked, and in many ways irrelevant.
    Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
  • More than 200 people were arrested in protest marches and anti-terror raids, including academics, lawyers, and journalists; a comedian who mocked President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was held at the airport.
    Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 7 July 2026
Verb
  • Court reporters say the job can be performed only by a human being, who can intervene to ensure everyone is heard and who bears responsibility if a transcript is missing or incomplete.
    Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
  • Atlas performed a series of soccer moves developed using a combination of motion retargeting, reinforcement learning and whole-body control.
    Clemente Lisi, Forbes.com, 6 July 2026
Verb
  • Luis Mauricio Flores Ordonez, 33, was charged with owning an unregistered aircraft that was operated by another person.
    Kelly O'Donnell, NBC news, 5 July 2026
  • For days, the US and its fans had operated under the assumption that there was no mechanism for the striker to have his suspension erased.
    Wayne Sterling, CNN Money, 5 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Acted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acted. Accessed 11 Jul. 2026.

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