as in raising hell
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
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Recent Examples of acting out
His brittle mum Heather (a heartbreaking and frustrating Shirley Henderson) is barely holding things together as is, and then John starts, well, acting out?
—
Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025
Despite their language barrier, Costner did his best to talk to the tribe about buffalo, acting out how the animal would behave.
—Angel Saunders, People.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Later clips feature his first time playing in snow, his first taste of ice cream, and even his first instance of acting out after his owner briefly left him—an unexpected sign of growing attachment.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
So Kiritsis, while his plan is undeniably wacked, is still someone who’s been backed into a corner and is acting out of a fury that has justifiably boiled over.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 2 Sep. 2025
But when Garcia began acting out as a child, the state intervened.
—Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2025
People went to see it again and again, and started dressing up in costumes and acting out the lines in front of the big screen, a practice that became known as shadow casting.
—ArsTechnica, 16 Aug. 2025
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said, last week, players on the bus to practice at Halas Hall were acting out a football trivia game show and linebacker Jordyn Brooks was playing the host.
—David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2025
His acting out was written up multiple times, but there was no clear follow-up documented to address his needs and help him.
—Ismael Estrada, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2025
Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025
Despite their language barrier, Costner did his best to talk to the tribe about buffalo, acting out how the animal would behave.
—Angel Saunders, People.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Later clips feature his first time playing in snow, his first taste of ice cream, and even his first instance of acting out after his owner briefly left him—an unexpected sign of growing attachment.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
So Kiritsis, while his plan is undeniably wacked, is still someone who’s been backed into a corner and is acting out of a fury that has justifiably boiled over.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 2 Sep. 2025
But when Garcia began acting out as a child, the state intervened.
—Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2025
People went to see it again and again, and started dressing up in costumes and acting out the lines in front of the big screen, a practice that became known as shadow casting.
—ArsTechnica, 16 Aug. 2025
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said, last week, players on the bus to practice at Halas Hall were acting out a football trivia game show and linebacker Jordyn Brooks was playing the host.
—David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2025
His acting out was written up multiple times, but there was no clear follow-up documented to address his needs and help him.
—Ismael Estrada, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acting out
Verb
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Johnson, who struggles with a neuroma, swears by her Oofos mules to keep it from acting up.—
Jennifer Heimlich,
SELF,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Many patients often hear multiple voices carrying on a conversation about them.—
Kristen Rogers,
CNN Money,
2 Sep. 2025
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More than just another bourbon For the Jackson Purchase team, making bourbon is about carrying on a legacy of distillation in Kentucky and supporting the local community.—
Olivia Evans,
The Courier-Journal,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Fischer faces charges of first-degree reckless endangerment, interfering with an officer, reckless driving, disobeying traffic control signals, failure to drive in the proper lane, disobeying the signal of an officer, failure to display plates and engaging police in a pursuit.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
18 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Acting out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acting%20out. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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