acting

Definition of acting

adjective:

• serving temporarily especially as a substitute; "the acting president".

noun:

• the performance of a part or role in a drama. Synonyms: performing, playacting, playing.

verb:

• perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act", "We must move quickly", "The governor should act on the new energy bill", "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel". Synonyms: act, move. Antonyms: refrain.
• behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult", "Don't behave like a fool", "What makes her do this way?", "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people". Synonyms: act, behave, do.
• play a role or part; "Gielgud played Hamlet", "She wants to act Lady Macbeth, but she is too young for the role", "She played the servant to her husband's master". Synonyms: act, play, represent.
• discharge one's duties; "She acts as the chair", "In what capacity are you acting?". Synonyms: act.
• pretend to have certain qualities or state of mind; "He acted the idiot", "She plays deaf when the news are bad". Synonyms: act, act as, play.
• be suitable for theatrical performance; "This scene acts well". Synonyms: act.
• have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected; "The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought", "How does your idea work in practice?", "This method doesn't work", "The breaks of my new car act quickly", "The medicine works only if you take it with a lot of water". Synonyms: act, work.
• be engaged in an activity, often for no particular purpose other than pleasure. Synonyms: act.
• behave unnaturally or affectedly; "She's just acting". Synonyms: act, dissemble, pretend.
• perform on a stage or theater; "She acts in this play", "He acted in `Julius Caesar'", "I played in `A Christmas Carol'". Synonyms: act, play, playact, roleplay.

Related words

acquit, act, aggress, alternate, antagonise, antagonize, anticipate, approach, assay, assume, attack, attempt, backslap, bank, bear, begin, behave, bluster, bungle, business, byplay, carry, coact, commit, comport, condescend, conduct, contend, continue, cope, counter, counteract, court, create, criticise, criticize, dally, dare, dawdle, deal, deign, deport, descend, dispatch, disturb, effect, egotrip, emote, enact, enactment, engage, essay, evade, exert, feign, festinate, finish, flirt, follow, footle, force, foresee, forestall, freeze, frivol, go, grapple, guard, ham, hamming, hasten, heroics, hurry, impersonate, impersonation, interact, interrupt, jest, joke, keep, make, manage, maneuver, manoeuver, manoeuvre, menace, method, mime, misbehave, misconduct, misdemean, move, offer, oppose, optimise, optimize, overact, overacting, overplay, pantomime, parody, participate, partner, perform, perpetrate, personation, piffle, play, portray, portrayal, presume, pretend, proceed, prosecute, pull, pursue, quack, race, rage, ramp, rampage, react, reciprocate, reenact, reenactment, relax, repay, repeat, respond, reward, roleplaying, romance, romanticize, rush, satisfice, satisfise, sauce, seek, sentimentalise, sentimentalize, sentimentise, sentimentize, sham, simulate, skit, snap, sneak, solicit, stampede, start, stooge, stoop, storm, support, surprise, swagger, swash, swell, take, toy, trifle, try, underact, underplay, use, volunteer, vulgarise, vulgarize, wait, wanton, woo.

Words nearby acting

aching, actin.

Rhymes with acting

exacting.

Start with acting

actings.

End with acting

enacting, preacting, interacting, coacting, reacting, contacting, refracting, recontacting, redacting, misacting, attracting, impacting, distracting, infracting, coenacting, overreacting, underreacting, retracting, counteracting, subtracting, abstracting, reenacting, nonacting, subcontracting, contracting, noninteracting, abreacting, diffracting, playacting, transacting, outacting, protracting, extracting, compacting, detracting, exacting, overacting, retroacting, underacting, preenacting.