acted

past tense of act
1
2
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 The lawsuit says the deputies acted without probable cause, and the case was settled with Solano County. Real-Time News Team, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2025 But then, the globe-trotting tour acted as years of promo for the fans who weren't lucky enough to catch Swift's career-spanning show live, whereas the Life of a Showgirl film was announced a mere two weeks ago. Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Oct. 2025 Democratic President Joe Biden last year acted to block future coal leases in the region, citing their potential to make climate change worse. Jordan Blum, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2025 The official story is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acted recklessly, blindsiding Washington and infuriating his indispensable patron. Dan Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025 Latimer most recently acted as the executive vice president and chief operating officer at Delaware North. Sportico Staff, Sportico.com, 3 Oct. 2025 Meyers acted his dang butt off in this sketch, and the audience paid him back with unsure and hesitating titters — not crickets, but not enthusiasm either. Bethy Squires, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025 Police believe Brown acted alone, Lee said. Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2025 Authorities acted upon that removal order on Friday morning. Richard Hall, Time, 27 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acted
Verb
  • McAvoy and Lindholm played just 50 and 17 games, respectively; Brandon Carlo got dealt to division rival Toronto; Zadorov never quite lived up to his beefy new deal; and youngster Lohrei struggled with too heavy of a load too soon as the carnage unfolded around him.
    Harman Dayal, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • The unconventional thriller played like gangbusters to the buzzing New York crowd.
    Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 7 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Nobody worked harder in practice, and that became contagious to his teammates.
    Michael Russo, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Kindt worked with Gorinson through several companies, including Boom!
    Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • However, there seemed to be more problems on the back end, especially with Blades and Sterlin out.
    Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2025
  • Once most of the ticker tape had been cleared from the pitch, and the game finally started, all this seemed to have rattled the Netherlands, who played an unusually physical brand of football, perhaps a precursor to their infamous 2010 final display against Spain.
    Michael Cox, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Now two people who once served at Defending Education have been named to posts in the Education Department, and leaders from Moms for Liberty have joined McMahon for roundtables and other official events.
    Megan O’Matz, ProPublica, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Bruno was with the Wild for two stints as a player and then served in roles on the coaching staff, in player development and in the front office as assistant GM.
    Michael Russo, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • In Week 6 of the TSSAA football season, Brentwood Academy junior edge-rusher Kenneth Simon II registered a sack against Ensworth and formed his hands into a circle, then pretended to roll a pair of dice.
    Tyler Palmateer, Nashville Tennessean, 2 Oct. 2025
  • True desires were revealed during the blackout, as Chuck pretended to be Blair's British boyfriend, Marcus.
    Emily Exton, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • In an interview with CNN, D’Agostino described being forced to sit or kneel on concrete in front of an Israeli flag for hours at a time, being left in cold temperatures with little clothing, having his belongings seized, mocked and destroyed and having his wrists bound tightly.
    Catherine Nicholls, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Puerto Rican rapper and Saturday Night Live host Bad Bunny mocked right-wing backlash to his upcoming Spanish-only Super Bowl halftime show, and started the countdown clock for anyone who doesn’t know the language.
    William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 5 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Scottish powerhouse Lewis Capaldi performed on the episode.
    Bryan West, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The hospital performed a little over 4,000 deliveries in 2024, the most reported by any area hospital to the Wisconsin Hospital Association Information Center.
    Sarah Volpenhein, jsonline.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The Tennessean looked at weekly circulars from more than a dozen stores, including Middle Tennessee staples like Aldi, Dollar General, BJ's Wholesale Club.
    Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Additionally, the report found that 47% of companies looked to automating or implementing new technologies to address worker shortages, a five percentage point increase from 2024.
    Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 2 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

More from Merriam-Webster on acted

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!