act out
verb
acted out; acting out; acts out
transitive verb
1
a
: to represent in action
children act out what they read
b
: to translate into action
unwilling to act out their beliefs
2
: to express (something, such as an impulse or a fantasy) directly in overt behavior without modification to comply with social norms
intransitive verb
: to behave badly or in a socially unacceptable often self-defeating manner especially as a means of venting painful emotions (such as fear or frustration)
Synonyms
- act up
- carry on
- misbehave
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
because his parents spent so much time with his chronically ill sister, the boy resorted to acting out in order to get attention
Recent Examples on the Web Find a family movie favorite and act out your favorite scenes. 
Elizabeth Berry, Woman's Day, 6 May 2022 And Define Your Needs Most often, people who lose their jobs act out of desperation to quickly find a new one. Heidi Lynne Kurter, Forbes, 1 May 2022 The faithful often act out the events of Good Friday by carrying a large wooden cross and crown of thorns symbolic of the suffering of Christ. al, 15 Apr. 2022 Symptoms vary greatly, but in general, depressed girls may become withdrawn, whereas boys may fight or act out, incurring the label of behavior problem rather than, say, mood disorder. New York Times, 23 Mar. 2022 Larin said a person that intoxicated may not understand instructions correctly and can act out of character. Elisha Anderson, Detroit Free Press, 6 May 2022 In 1997, Ingrosso’s dad received a white label promo from a new electronic act out of Paris. SPIN, 3 Mar. 2022 After dividing groups into teams, have each participant write down Bible characters for the other team to act out for their teammates. Corinne Sullivan, Woman's Day, 5 May 2022 Now that Lincoln Riley took his act out West things may finally be looking up in Austin. Scooby Axson, USA TODAY, 26 Apr. 2022 See More
Elizabeth Berry, Woman's Day, 6 May 2022 And Define Your Needs Most often, people who lose their jobs act out of desperation to quickly find a new one. Heidi Lynne Kurter, Forbes, 1 May 2022 The faithful often act out the events of Good Friday by carrying a large wooden cross and crown of thorns symbolic of the suffering of Christ. al, 15 Apr. 2022 Symptoms vary greatly, but in general, depressed girls may become withdrawn, whereas boys may fight or act out, incurring the label of behavior problem rather than, say, mood disorder. New York Times, 23 Mar. 2022 Larin said a person that intoxicated may not understand instructions correctly and can act out of character. Elisha Anderson, Detroit Free Press, 6 May 2022 In 1997, Ingrosso’s dad received a white label promo from a new electronic act out of Paris. SPIN, 3 Mar. 2022 After dividing groups into teams, have each participant write down Bible characters for the other team to act out for their teammates. Corinne Sullivan, Woman's Day, 5 May 2022 Now that Lincoln Riley took his act out West things may finally be looking up in Austin. Scooby Axson, USA TODAY, 26 Apr. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
circa 1616, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a
Medical Definition
act out
transitive verb
(ˈ)akt-ˈau̇t 
: to express (as an impulse or a fantasy) directly in overt behavior without modification to comply with social norms
act out an adolescent fantasy
intransitive verb
: to behave badly or in a socially unacceptable often self-defeating manner especially as a means of venting painful emotions (as fear or frustration)
acting out
verb
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 Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- running riot
- misconducting
- acting up
- raising hell
- carrying on
- disobeying
- raising Cain
- rebelling
- misbehaving
- cutting up
- horsing around
- fooling around
- showing off
- clowning (around)
- kidding (around)
- roughhousing
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- acting
- obeying
- conducting
- bearing
- handling
- containing
- moving
- controlling
- complying
- quitting
- conforming
- checking
- collecting
- composing
- acquitting
- restraining
- inhibiting
- curbing
- comporting
- demeaning
- deporting
- constraining
- quieting
- repressing