acted up

verb

past tense of act up
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

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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acted up
  1. acted out
  2. cut up
  3. disobeyed
  4. showed off
  5. carried on
  6. fooled around
  7. rebelled
  8. reveled
Verb
  • During one scene, Einbinder — dressed in a replica of a black dress Gyllenhaal wore in the original film — acted out an explicit orgasm as described in the script, breaking character in the middle of the scene to double over laughing.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 29 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of acted out
Verb
  • Use leftover cheese scraps, cut up, in pasta salad, melted in macaroni and cheese, or add to snack boxes.
    — Better Homes & Gardens, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 July 2026
  • The director planned to film the killing of a live donkey, which would be cut up for food by actors portraying laborers.
    — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 7 July 2026
Definition of cut up
Verb
  • Ulysses expresses sorrowful regret for having disobeyed Zeus’ Law – essentially the Golden Rule – in sacking Troy.
    — Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 16 July 2026
  • However, all of the city’s fire stations seemingly disobeyed the mayor by lowering their flags.
    — R. Christian Smith, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
Definition of disobeyed
Verb
  • The news was made at Comic-Con this weekend which showed off an all-new post-credits sequence.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 26 July 2026
  • Norway’s star striker Erling Haaland, one of soccer’s most fashionable gents, showed off his namesake Breitling at a post-Cup reception in his home country.
    — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 18 July 2026
Definition of showed off
Verb
  • Part of the point of Wade’s book is that individual people proved individually resilient, and life carried on.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 25 July 2026
  • Harry ultimately carried on with the trip alone, while Meghan, Archie and Lilibet traveled to Britain from Portugal, where the family was vacationing, on July 9.
    — Simon Perry, PEOPLE, 15 July 2026
Definition of carried on
Verb
  • 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
Definition of fooled around
Verb
  • Common farmers, including many Revolutionary War veterans, rebelled in opposition to postwar taxation policies.
    — Donovan Fifield, The Conversation, 16 July 2026
  • Bernthal rebelled against the affluence of his upbringing from an early age and charted a more circuitous path to success than his two brothers.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 July 2026
Definition of rebelled
Verb
  • Walker wore his Cardinals hat backward, chewed a big wad of bubble gum and reveled afterward in flashing his imitation Liberty Bell bling, the champions chain presented by Ryan Howard.
    — Dan Gelston, Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of reveled

Browse Nearby Words

acted (toward)
acted up
acting
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Cite this Entry

“Acted up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acted%20up. Accessed 31 Jul. 2026.

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