as in raises 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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 acts out
Blanc specifically acts out moments from John Dickson Carr's The Hollow Man to illustrate the impossibility of the crime.
—
Esther Zuckerman, Time, 8 Sep. 2025
Traditional methods might overlook the quiet student who won’t ask for help or the struggling reader who acts out to hide their difficulty grasping the words.
—Haozhen Yang, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
As an Argentinian prisoner with a high-wattage flare for storytelling, Tonatiuh acts out the life and work of his favorite silver screen diva La Luna (Jennifer Lopez) to bond with his radical cellmate (Diego Luna).
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
Esther Zuckerman, Time, 8 Sep. 2025
Traditional methods might overlook the quiet student who won’t ask for help or the struggling reader who acts out to hide their difficulty grasping the words.
—Haozhen Yang, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
As an Argentinian prisoner with a high-wattage flare for storytelling, Tonatiuh acts out the life and work of his favorite silver screen diva La Luna (Jennifer Lopez) to bond with his radical cellmate (Diego Luna).
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acts out
acts up
Verb
-
The kid acts up, the dad disciplines him and mom just sends a sorry text.—
Hannah Sacks,
PEOPLE,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Acts out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acts%20out. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share