outactv.
/ˌaʊtˈakt/, U.S. /ˌaʊtˈæk(t)/ transitive. To surpass in acting or performing; to excel or outdo.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > outdoing or surpassing > outdo or surpass [verb (transitive)]
overstyeOE
overshinec1175
overgoc1225
passc1225
surmountc1369
forpassc1374
overmatcha1375
overpassa1382
to pass overa1393
overcomec1400
outpass?a1425
exceedc1425
precedec1425
superexcelc1429
transcendc1430
precel?a1439
outcut1447
overgrowc1475
to come over ——a1479
excel1493
overleapa1500
vanquish1533
outweigh1534
prevent1540
better1548
preferc1550
outgo1553
surpassa1555
exsuperate1559
cote1566
overtop1567
outrun1575
outstrip1579
outsail1580
overruna1586
pre-excel1587
outbid1589
outbrave1589
out-cote1589
top1590
outmatch1593
outvie1594
superate1595
surbravec1600
oversile1608
over-height1611
overstride1614
outdoa1616
outlustrea1616
outpeera1616
outstrikea1616
outrival1622
antecede1624
out-top1624
antecell1625
out-pitch1627
over-merit1629
outblazea1634
surmatch1636
overdoa1640
overact1643
outact1644
worst1646
overspana1657
outsoar1674
outdazzle1691
to cut down1713
ding1724
to cut out1738
cap1821
by-pass1848
overtower1850
pretergress1851
outray1876
outreach1879
cut1884
outperform1937
outrate1955
one-up1963
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > acting > act [verb (transitive)] > act better than
outact1644
to play (a person) off the stage1895
1644 J. Bulwer Chirologia sig. Aiv Demosthenes might here his garbe refine, And Cicero out-act his Cateline.
1694 E. Settle Ambitious Slave ii. i. 9 And if perhaps I have out-liv'd her Fall, 'Tis onely to outact her Vengeance.
1776 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1862) 2nd Ser. II. 211 Garrick says ‘She so much outacted him it is time for him to leave the stage’.
1906 Westm. Gaz. 2 June 6/3 The best of Hamlets [is sometimes] outacted by the worst of gravediggers.
1975 D. Gray Ride on Tiger viii. 62 She knew she could out-act Anna any day.
1992 Metro (San Jose, Calif.) 7 May 45/3 The African American cast members..quietly and with dignity outact the white cast.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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