as in ran riot
to behave badly
because his parents spent so much time with his chronically ill sister, the boy resorted to acting out in order to get attention
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 out
In the video, Allie dramatically acted out both sides of the conversation, capturing the feeling of trying to extract a straightforward answer from her mom.
—
Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026
Prosecutors alleged that Chow acted out of a false belief that Carmack-Belton had shoplifted four bottles of water from his store.
—Jeana Fermi, ABC News, 2 June 2026
This is one of the earliest indicators of emotional intelligence because feelings with names become feelings that can be processed instead of acted out.
—Reem Raouda, CNBC, 31 May 2026
Our workshop acted out parts of Shange’s text on the first day of a spring semester class in 2010.
—Literary Hub, 29 May 2026
Friends and family say Wright acted out throughout the trial, including missing previous court dates and removing himself from the stand.
—Wcco Staff, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2026
Like other states around the country, Tennessee was closing its public psychiatric hospitals, and mentally ill people who acted out were simply being jailed.
—James Verini, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
Administration officials have argued Ross acted out of self-defense, alleging Good was impeding federal law enforcement.
—Amie Parnes, The Hill, 18 Jan. 2026
His observations about the barbarity of women’s beauty regimens aren’t exactly new, but they are acted out with enthusiasm and verve.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2026
Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026
Prosecutors alleged that Chow acted out of a false belief that Carmack-Belton had shoplifted four bottles of water from his store.
—Jeana Fermi, ABC News, 2 June 2026
This is one of the earliest indicators of emotional intelligence because feelings with names become feelings that can be processed instead of acted out.
—Reem Raouda, CNBC, 31 May 2026
Our workshop acted out parts of Shange’s text on the first day of a spring semester class in 2010.
—Literary Hub, 29 May 2026
Friends and family say Wright acted out throughout the trial, including missing previous court dates and removing himself from the stand.
—Wcco Staff, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2026
Like other states around the country, Tennessee was closing its public psychiatric hospitals, and mentally ill people who acted out were simply being jailed.
—James Verini, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
Administration officials have argued Ross acted out of self-defense, alleging Good was impeding federal law enforcement.
—Amie Parnes, The Hill, 18 Jan. 2026
His observations about the barbarity of women’s beauty regimens aren’t exactly new, but they are acted out with enthusiasm and verve.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acted out
Verb
-
However, all of the city’s fire stations seemingly disobeyed the mayor by lowering their flags.—
R. Christian Smith,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The group says Ensign misled courts, disobeyed court orders and failed to intervene when lawyers under his supervision engaged in misconduct.—
Jaclyn Diaz,
NPR,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
And of course, Peterson not playing would have made some wonder if the McDonald’s All-American’s hamstring had acted up again.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
7 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
As per the tests carried on behalf of the company, MST enabled more than a 10x reduction in parasitic channel charge, reducing a key mechanism of RF power loss and supporting improved high-frequency GaN device performance.—
Aditya Jadhav,
Interesting Engineering,
8 June 2026
-
Four of the five Timberwolves-Spurs games were carried on Disney’s biggest cable outlet, ESPN, while the remaining outing aired on ABC.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Jane rebelled against Marge’s efforts to manage her choices, especially on whom to date.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 May 2026
-
As a young woman, my mother rebelled against this laborious femininity, mostly wearing jeans and loose men’s shirts.—
Benny Peterson,
Vogue,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Acted out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acted%20out. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
