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 And so, the power of a far-right billionaire who has long acted with impunity will also be checked — another priceless win for democracy. — Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026 Tomorrow acted as a licensor and distributor across its portfolio of brands, receiving all revenues and paying royalties to brands based on their individual deals. — Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 4 Nov. 2026 This giant stardust cloud acted like a literal screen, blocking a substantial portion of the star's light from our viewpoint. — Joe Rao, Space.com, 3 Nov. 2026 Some believe that Barack Obama acted too timidly when Republicans refused to co-sign a letter warning of Russian interference in that campaign. — David Weigel, semafor.com, 2 Nov. 2026 Moreover, by strengthening the minilateral latticework, countries close to Russia would enhance their capacity to act together before NATO acted collectively. — Foreign Affairs, 30 Oct. 2026 The human acted as a contextual filter, quietly absorbing data ambiguity. — Filip Popovic, Forbes.com, 30 Oct. 2026 The nonprofit Public Citizen noted that Kennedy seems to have acted unilaterally rather than through the typical rulemaking process. — Sydney Lupkin, NPR, 28 Oct. 2026 James initially acted as his own attorney in challenging his detention as unlawful, calling himself a Jamaica native and claiming citizenship in Lebanon. — Ryan J. Foley, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acted
Verb
  • Federal district judges, even at the risk of physical threats, played a key role by throttling unconstitutional White House efforts to seize state voting records, curtail mail-in voting and manipulate the count in Alaska.
    — James D. Zirin, Washington Post, 8 Nov. 2026
  • That is underscored by the fact that Democrats also certainly played a role in getting the word out about Amendment 3.
    — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • Kelly, who lost to High in the primaries and later worked full time for him, attributed the defeat to general discontent with the Democratic party.
    — Roger Simmons, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The reigning Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year, who was a rodeo cowboy in his youth, has worked with Justin Boots on a collection of men’s boots.
    — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 2 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • These systems, which are based on mathematical structures called neural networks, excel at cognitive tasks that until recently seemed exclusive to humans.
    — Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Raman’s position on the precipice of ascending to the mayoralty would have seemed nearly unthinkable at the start of the year, when Bass’ challengers included Pratt, former LAUSD Supt.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • Listyo previously served as national police chief after being appointed by then-President Joko Widodo in 2021.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Nov. 2026
  • While not a doctor, Xavier Becerra, who served as health secretary in the Biden administration, cruised in his race to become California governor.
    — Sarah Todd, STAT, 4 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • In 17 of those 19 times, the chatbot cited one of the outlets that pretended to be a local news site.
    — Huo Jingnan, NPR, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Prosecutors said Navarrete then drove to his parents’ home with his children and pretended to discovered his parents were dead.
    — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Tonight, Musk lamented and maybe even mocked his own efforts.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Trump couldn’t stop himself Hearing his taste criticized, all his beautiful, shiny gold mocked — by Obama of all people — was rage-bait that Trump could not ignore.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Chazi Rutz, a professional skydiver from Arizona, told The Times that the two skydivers were part of a group training to set a California record for largest formation in the upright orientation performed by women.
    — Iris Kwok Follow Nov. 6, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026
  • The 2012 edition showed us there was genuine appetite for Dracula in audio, and that the epistolary structure of letters and diary entries actually works beautifully when performed by multiple voices.
    — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 6 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • Threats were also made against a Prague-to-Bucharest, Romania, flight operated by Romanian carrier Tarom, and a Ryanair flight from the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, to Rome.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Nov. 2026
  • The complication is that about 95% of the world’s 46,000 McDonald’s restaurants are owned and operated by franchisees — and some have pushed back against a proposal that could require $650,000 to $800,000 of investment per store.
    — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 6 Nov. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Acted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acted. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

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