1
as in acted out
to behave badly
the two-year-old was acting up in church so much that her dad had to take her outside
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cut up
to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior
you should have seen the boys acting up when they put on their aprons
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of acted up
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
Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 7 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acted up
Verb
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Administration officials have argued Ross acted out of self-defense, alleging Good was impeding federal law enforcement.—
Amie Parnes,
The Hill,
18 Jan. 2026
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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
Verb
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Her voice is intimate and resonant, whether cut up into indistinct background flurries or pushed to the front of the mix.—
Alex Robert Ross,
Pitchfork,
13 Feb. 2026
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Such a potato is cut up into sections, each having a sprout or two.—
David Beaulieu,
The Spruce,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Saldaña also showed off her three lookalike sons' long black hair in candid photos and videos from their family vacation.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
23 Feb. 2026
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Hamnet lead Paul Mescal showed off a neo-vintage Tank Basculante, while Wasteman star Tom Blyth flexed a sleek, contemporary Santos-Dumont.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Hours after the shooting, Noem defended the ICE officer who shot Good, saying the woman had blocked federal officers with her SUV and disobeyed orders to get out of her vehicle.—
Juliana Kim,
NPR,
9 Jan. 2026
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One aviation expert argued that IndiGo not only disobeyed the regulations, but also increased its domestic flights without increasing crew and pilots.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
8 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Authorities say no hazardous material was being carried on the train and that there is no public safety hazard.—
Jack Springgate,
CBS News,
18 Feb. 2026
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These put together imperfections carried on into the details of the show’s beauty look.—
Kiana Murden,
Vogue,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Laughing Storm rebelled against the crown, but the short rebellion came to an end after Dunk and Lyonel engaged in single combat with Dunk emerging victorious.—
James Grebey,
Vulture,
23 Feb. 2026
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The neighborhood, including Northwest Bronx, rebelled, pointing out that mall jobs paid little, small businesses would be crushed, and profits would be siphoned away to national corporations.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Not too long ago, artificial intelligence was more or less a science project in which data scientists and developers fooled around with one-off small or test projects.—
Joe McKendrick,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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While hundreds reveled at Thursday night’s all-out bash for The Pierre hotel’s 95th anniversary, some of the building’s tenants in the floors above haven’t been feeling quite as celebratory.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
Footwear News,
21 Nov. 2025
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In the party scene, though, there would be plenty of swooping camera movements as the guests revelled.—
Margaret Talbot,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Acted up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acted%20up. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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