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
Relevance
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
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 acting up
The black flies are not the only troublesome creature acting up during the unseasonably warm weather.
—
Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2026
Intel’s representative explained that the Intel team has pushed this to extremes in testing—their vPro team even challenged each other, successfully, to try to access a troubled machine that was acting up on a flight, over airplane Wi-Fi!
—John Burek, PC Magazine, 25 Mar. 2026
Bruce, as the stunt shark built to menace them is nicknamed, is acting up and delaying the acting itself.
—Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 10 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, the guests, who have literally just arrived five minutes ago, are already acting up.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2026
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
Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2026
Intel’s representative explained that the Intel team has pushed this to extremes in testing—their vPro team even challenged each other, successfully, to try to access a troubled machine that was acting up on a flight, over airplane Wi-Fi!
—John Burek, PC Magazine, 25 Mar. 2026
Bruce, as the stunt shark built to menace them is nicknamed, is acting up and delaying the acting itself.
—Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 10 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, the guests, who have literally just arrived five minutes ago, are already acting up.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acting up
Verb
-
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
-
Reports from those calls reveal a spectrum of youth behaviors, from hallway bullying to acting out because of problems at home.—
Natalie Eilbert,
jsonline.com,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
Ford is planning on cutting up to 1,000 roles in electric-vehicle production in Germany.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The ground beneath your feet may be carrying on a kind of conversation.—
Samantha Agate,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Marcos Acosta might seem like an unlikely character to be carrying on the two-century-long tradition of Western American art in Colorado.—
Ray Mark Rinaldi,
Denver Post,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Bevel was horsing around with the Reverend James Orange and Andy Young in the courtyard under King's balcony, according to Orange.—
Gail Sheehy,
Vanity Fair,
20 Feb. 2026
-
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
-
Kyorkian was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, violation of civil rights (hate crime) and disobeying a court order.—
Tim Fang,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
-
State police said Bishop was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs, reckless driving, disobeying the signal of an officer, evading responsibility, driving the wrong way on a divided highway and first-degree reckless endangerment.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Dolly Parton is showing off her latest Good American collection.—
Juliana Ukiomogbe,
InStyle,
3 Apr. 2026
-
In the years since Boogie Nights, Leo has made an unlikely hit out of The Man in the Iron Mask, then took the role of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, showing off his range and turning that surreal and often horrifying movie into another $100 million feather in his cap.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Zeus did not approve of his daughter fooling around with this mortal roughneck hunter and put out a hit on Orion.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
8 Mar. 2026
-
The transition was rough for Ansari, who wasn’t fluent in English and often got in trouble for fooling around in school.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Acting up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acting%20up. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
