as in to raise 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 act out
While in shelters, some animals may act out due to the overwhelming stress of their environment.
—
Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025
Two months later, Becca was the target of online gossip and started acting out and drinking as a way to cope.
—Deb Schmill, People.com, 22 Apr. 2025
Prosecutors argued the brothers acted out of greed, resorting to murder to get their multimillion-dollar inheritances before being cut out of their parents’ will.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 17 Apr. 2025
In the crowded gym, the researchers instructed participants to act out different scenarios.
—Gayoung Lee, Scientific American, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for act out
Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025
Two months later, Becca was the target of online gossip and started acting out and drinking as a way to cope.
—Deb Schmill, People.com, 22 Apr. 2025
Prosecutors argued the brothers acted out of greed, resorting to murder to get their multimillion-dollar inheritances before being cut out of their parents’ will.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 17 Apr. 2025
In the crowded gym, the researchers instructed participants to act out different scenarios.
—Gayoung Lee, Scientific American, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for act out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for act out
Verb
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Resto was arrested on charges of reckless driving, disobeying signal of an officer, engaging police in a pursuit, failure to maintain proper lane on a limited access highway and interfering with an officer/resisting.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
30 Apr. 2025
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The YouGov/The Economist survey also shows that nearly half of Americans think that the Trump administration is disobeying court orders when deporting immigrants.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Barnes is keen to carry on and has been injury-free since the move.—
Andy Jones,
New York Times,
2 May 2025
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One departing staff member argued that researchers and contractors can still carry on much of the Joint Office's work within the federal government, at either DOE or DOT.—
Camila Domonoske,
NPR,
1 May 2025
Verb
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For the first time, Tindall had to act up without his partner over these past two weeks, with Graeme Jones, his fellow assistant, deputising alongside him.—
Chris Waugh,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2025
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Is his palm injury acting up again, or the pressure to join the elite company of Jack Nicklaus, who won 3 times at The PLAYERS Championship?—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
16 Mar. 2025
Verb
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As few as four lawmakers rebelling in the House or Senate could derail the final package, as no Democrats are expected to support the legislation.—
Riley Beggin,
USA Today,
10 May 2025
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Medicaid benefits: Moderates are rebelling against per-capita spending caps, as well as shifting some of the cost burden to the states.—
Hans Nichols,
Axios,
7 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Act out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/act%20out. Accessed 16 May. 2025.
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