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
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Recent Examples of acting out
This natural state of paralysis prevents the body from physically acting out dreams, which could otherwise lead to injury, Drerup explained.
—
Daryl Austin, USA Today, 17 May 2026
Rather than acting out on the anger, take a calming moment with some deep breaths, and think about the possibility that your partner was possibly distracted or stressed out.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026
Created by Eugene Pack and co-created by Dayle Reyfel, Celebrity Autobiography features stars reading — and dramatically acting out — excerpts from famous memoirs, leaning into the unintentionally funny, overly revealing and often absurd moments found within their pages.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 9 May 2026
The company accused Musk of acting out of personal motives.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 29 Apr. 2026
Garcia says, acting out the usual blush of so many bewildered men.
—Darío Gael Blanco, Vanity Fair, 25 Apr. 2026
This reality means that the environmental review angle can be an effective veto over development by NIMBY groups and others acting out of ideological rather than environmentally-conscious concerns.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 7 Apr. 2026
If previous records massaged her hedonism into silky, professional-grade pop, the sound on WOR$T GIRL is all sinew and scrap metal, a leaner and meaner vehicle for acting out.
—Harry Tafoya, Pitchfork, 2 Apr. 2026
Mia is really acting out her character and has butt pads so lumpy that Michelle Visage got up off her couch to come over to the Hamptons to yell at her.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 25 Mar. 2026
Daryl Austin, USA Today, 17 May 2026
Rather than acting out on the anger, take a calming moment with some deep breaths, and think about the possibility that your partner was possibly distracted or stressed out.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026
Created by Eugene Pack and co-created by Dayle Reyfel, Celebrity Autobiography features stars reading — and dramatically acting out — excerpts from famous memoirs, leaning into the unintentionally funny, overly revealing and often absurd moments found within their pages.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 9 May 2026
The company accused Musk of acting out of personal motives.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 29 Apr. 2026
Garcia says, acting out the usual blush of so many bewildered men.
—Darío Gael Blanco, Vanity Fair, 25 Apr. 2026
This reality means that the environmental review angle can be an effective veto over development by NIMBY groups and others acting out of ideological rather than environmentally-conscious concerns.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 7 Apr. 2026
If previous records massaged her hedonism into silky, professional-grade pop, the sound on WOR$T GIRL is all sinew and scrap metal, a leaner and meaner vehicle for acting out.
—Harry Tafoya, Pitchfork, 2 Apr. 2026
Mia is really acting out her character and has butt pads so lumpy that Michelle Visage got up off her couch to come over to the Hamptons to yell at her.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 25 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acting out
Verb
-
Baye continued acting up until 2023.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
PEOPLE,
18 Apr. 2026
-
The capsule’s toilet is already acting up.—
Marcia Dunn,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
This, of course, not being the 50-year ban that actually set women’s football back years, but Everton Women carrying on-loan Manchester United full-back Hannah Blundell out in a suitcase-cum-coffin before their World Sevens semi-final against United on Saturday and resurrecting her.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
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Its all-metal build is significant in competing with the Neo and carrying on the XPS build quality in a less expensive machine.—
Matthew Buzzi,
PC Magazine,
1 June 2026
Verb
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Jakubowski faces charges of second-degree reckless endangerment, risk of injury to a minor, reckless driving, interfering with an officer, improper use of maker plates, possession of drug paraphernalia, disobeying the signal of an officer and failure to maintain the proper lane.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
29 May 2026
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Icarus disobeying his father Daedalus and flying too close to the sun.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
The teenagers were rebelling, like teenagers are supposed to.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
-
After rebelling against the authority of the Jade Emperor (the supreme deity in traditional Chinese cosmology), he is subdued by the Buddha and imprisoned beneath the Five Elements Mountain.—
Frannie Comstock,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Acting out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acting%20out. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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