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
But parents could make a lesson out of going on a trip to the bank, or with very young children, Tsuei recommends pretend play, such as acting out buying toys from a store.
—
Jillian Pretzel,
Parents,
30 June 2026
But, again, is acting out of expediency and the desire to streamline a conclusive end the same as delivering a final season representing the best of The Bear?
—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
25 June 2026
The statement accused Blake of acting out of retaliation for an incident that occurred earlier in the lacrosse season.
—
Ryan Canfield Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
12 June 2026
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.
—
DarÃo Gael Blanco,
Vanity Fair,
25 Apr. 2026
Jillian Pretzel,
Parents,
30 June 2026
But, again, is acting out of expediency and the desire to streamline a conclusive end the same as delivering a final season representing the best of The Bear?
—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
25 June 2026
The statement accused Blake of acting out of retaliation for an incident that occurred earlier in the lacrosse season.
—
Ryan Canfield Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
12 June 2026
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.
—
DarÃo Gael Blanco,
Vanity Fair,
25 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acting out
Verb
-
Baye continued acting up until 2023.
-
The capsule’s toilet is already acting up.
Verb
-
The brief clip showed off a new cast of characters, beginning with fuzzy television static before exploding into a montage propelled by intense music and kinetic bursts of action, carrying on the spirit of the first season through energetic animation and heavily stylised art.
-
One was Buck Strickland, Hank Hill’s philandering boss, who has many of LBJ’s characteristics including carrying on conversations while on the toilet.
Verb
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Santana-Mateo was booked on charges of breach of peace, engaging police in a pursuit, disobeying the direction of officer, reckless driving, failure to obey a stop sign, failure to drive right, failure to obey a traffic control signal and driving the wrong way on a one way.
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Icarus disobeying his father Daedalus and flying too close to the sun.
Verb
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The common narrative is fixated upon 1776, the 13 rebelling Colonies and the bold military actions of Founding Fathers such as George Washington.
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Years later, Billie keeps on rebelling – against everything.
Cite this Entry
“Acting out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acting%20out. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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