as in to misconduct
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 act out
When school started, the boy's parents quickly became aware their son was having outbursts and acting out physically.
—
Rachel Wegner, Nashville Tennessean, 19 Dec. 2025
Gen Z is making risky investments The third way Gen Z is acting out against their inability to buy a home, the researchers argue, is by taking on risky investments, like buying cryptocurrencies.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 12 Dec. 2025
After that, Ray began acting out.
—Charles Trepany, USA Today, 4 Dec. 2025
There is defiance among the four, acting out of spite for their own losses, but not what Nick’s life stands to gain.
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for act out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for act out
Verb
-
The mayor and governor of Minnesota need to be investigated for causing chaos in the streets, disobeying federal laws and causing riots at the expense of a deceased person.—
-
The plaintiffs disagreed, accusing the department of disobeying Cobb’s prior order.—
Verb
-
Accompanying him are two monkeys, one carried on the man’s shoulder and the other led by hand.—
-
Goldy was sentenced to 41 months in prison in 2024 after a federal jury convicted him of honest services wire fraud, use of an interstate facility with the intent to carry on unlawful activity and bribery concerning a program that receives federal funds.—
Verb
-
Some of the biggest names in Hollywood weren’t afraid to act up on Friday night.—
-
And of course, Peterson not playing would have made some wonder if the McDonald’s All-American’s hamstring had acted up again.—
Verb
-
Gardeners, particularly Gen Z and Millennials, are rebelling against throwaway culture by ditching disposable gardening.—
-
In Spanish Santo Domingo, the first slave society in the Americas, Africans on a sugar plantation owned by Christopher Columbus’s son rebelled on Christmas Day 1521.—
Cite this Entry
“Act out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/act%20out. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
