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
-
But life was carrying on, Diane said.—
Sarah Dahlberg,
NBC news,
26 Apr. 2026
-
While the theater seeks a new space, fellow indie theater Central Cinema is carrying on the screenings with 60 percent of its ticket sales going to Grand Illusion’s relocation fund.—
Donald Liebenson,
IndieWire,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Saulter was being investigated for allegedly falsifying time sheets, disobeying a direct order and failing to report part-time employment properly.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 May 2026
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Authorities last August removed Dodik from the post of the president and temporarily banned him from politics for disobeying Schmidt's decisions.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
Embracing a visual vocabulary of the lowbrow and the rudimentary is a tried-and-true method of rebelling against a culture that feels vapid or corporatized.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
6 May 2026
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Two decades after Steve Jobs premiered the iPhone, a small but passionate movement — with offshoots in several countries — is rebelling against the omnipresent screen.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Acting out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acting%20out. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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