1
as in acting 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 cutting 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 acting up
Likewise, when the young men started acting up, Josephine Holt took a keen interest in her newspaper.
—
Literary Hub, 21 Jan. 2026
If your trackpad is acting up, keyboard shortcuts can keep you productive without fighting the cursor.
—Ken Colburn, AZCentral.com, 19 Jan. 2026
Its general sensibility seems more Superstore than The Office, down to the interstitial montages of customers acting up in the perpetually overcrowded waiting room.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2025
Sturm said his back started acting up after the team’s first practice.
—Michael Russo, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Mature parents do not slap their children across the face for acting up.
—Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 25 Sep. 2025
Then the engine started acting up, which would have cost up to $10,000 to fix.
—Shannon Pettypiece, NBC news, 22 Sep. 2025
Johnson, who struggles with a neuroma, swears by her Oofos mules to keep it from acting up.
—Jennifer Heimlich, SELF, 29 Aug. 2025
Literary Hub, 21 Jan. 2026
If your trackpad is acting up, keyboard shortcuts can keep you productive without fighting the cursor.
—Ken Colburn, AZCentral.com, 19 Jan. 2026
Its general sensibility seems more Superstore than The Office, down to the interstitial montages of customers acting up in the perpetually overcrowded waiting room.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2025
Sturm said his back started acting up after the team’s first practice.
—Michael Russo, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Mature parents do not slap their children across the face for acting up.
—Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 25 Sep. 2025
Then the engine started acting up, which would have cost up to $10,000 to fix.
—Shannon Pettypiece, NBC news, 22 Sep. 2025
Johnson, who struggles with a neuroma, swears by her Oofos mules to keep it from acting up.
—Jennifer Heimlich, SELF, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acting up
Verb
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The actors joked about how trying to put on medical gloves quickly enough while remembering and acting out dialogue can make scenes go sideways in a heartbeat.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Dec. 2025
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This world is rarely gentle to people who are hurt, vulnerable, acting out.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Meanwhile, as all of this is happening, Meredith is cutting up with the other ladies at the spa, without a care in the world.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
31 Dec. 2025
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Ford is planning on cutting up to 1,000 roles in electric-vehicle production in Germany.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Over the weekend, business leaders offered a mix of responses after federal agents shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, revealing yet again how one of America’s most powerful cohorts is — publicly, at least — carrying on with business as usual.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
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No redemptive speechifying or cathartic waterworks here, just life carrying on with a slightly heavier tread.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In April 2020, Iglesias shared a video of him horsing around with Lucy and Nicholas as the pair attempted to climb on his back for a ride.—
Andrea Wurzburger,
PEOPLE,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The fact that on this occasion senior officers chose a very light touch, preserving still-new representative institutions while not directly disobeying a direct presidential order, is extraordinary – and deserves far more comment and commendation than has been received.—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Jan. 2026
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The mayor and governor of Minnesota need to be investigated for causing chaos in the streets, disobeying federal laws and causing riots at the expense of a deceased person.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In the cavernous, warehouse-like space, the boys turn into physical exhibitionists, showing off for one another by hoisting heavy chunks of scrap metal and flinging them across the ruin.—
Natalia Winkelman,
IndieWire,
24 Jan. 2026
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Sydney also posted a photo of her walking through the hallways, showing off her pajamas — which perfectly match her daughter's onesie.—
Raven Brunner,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Gisin hopes that by fooling around with measurements of these more exotic states, physicists will come to better understand the role of measurement in general.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Acting up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acting%20up. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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