Synonyms of acting out

acting out

verb

present participle of act out

as in running 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

• running riot
• acting up
• carrying on
• disobeying
• raising Cain
• misconducting
• rebelling
• misbehaving
• cutting up
• kidding (around)
• horsing around
• clowning (around)
• fooling around
• showing off
• roughhousing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• acting
• obeying
• conducting
• bearing
• containing
• quitting
• complying
• moving
• handling
• controlling
• conforming
• checking
• collecting
• composing
• acquitting
• restraining
• inhibiting
• deporting
• curbing
• demeaning
• comporting
• constraining
• quieting
• repressing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of acting out

The bonus episodes also include stop-motion animation toy versions of the movie’s characters acting out some of the original film’s biggest moments and interactive games focused on the character’s backstage lives. — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 5 Nov. 2026

Her sketches got weirder as a way of acting out against her audience. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2026

Attendees are encouraged to wear costumes, and the live cast will lead the audience in acting out scenes and songs from the movie. — Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2026

There’s no doubt that Landseer’s paintings of dogs acting out very human emotions and scenarios appear kitschy to twenty-first-century tastes. — Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2026

She was thrown right into the mix, acting out a meet-cute with Montana Jordan’s Georgie Cooper that culminated with a kiss. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Oct. 2026

With the final credits barely up, Musk is acting out exactly that blueprint. — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026

And sometimes people do that with drugs, some people do that with acting out or getting in fights or whatever the ways that people do it. — Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026

If Graham fails in her bid, she can be forgiven for acting out of loyalty and love for her brother. — Kathleen Parker, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026