as in interim
serving in a position for the time being
will serve as acting president of the university until a permanent replacement can be found
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in entertainment
Related Words
1
as in playing
to present a portrayal or performance of
a local student acted the part of Tiny Tim in our theater company's production of A Christmas Carol
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in working
to produce a desired effect
the painkiller acted surprisingly quickly
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in seeming
to give the impression of being
always acting helpless, just to get attention
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in serving
to have a certain purpose
the tail feathers of woodpeckers act as props while the birds excavate tree trunks for insects
Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in pretending
to present a false appearance of
if you act confident long enough, you'll begin to actually feel it
Synonyms & Similar Words
6
as in mocking
to pretend to be (what one is not) in appearance or behavior
someone who is willing to act the helpless little thing when she wants attention
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of acting
Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2025
The five members of the committee are human rights advocate Jørgen Watne Frydnes, foreign policy scholar Asle Toje, former acting Norwegian Prime Minister Anne Enger, former Norwegian Minister of Education Kristin Clemet, and former Norwegian Foreign Affairs Secretary Gry Larsen.
—Max Rego, The Hill, 9 Oct. 2025
Clayton Davis, Variety, 9 Jan. 2026
Trump also struck a deal with the country’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, to bring up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil to the United States.
—Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 9 Jan. 2026
Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 8 Nov. 2025
Sessions will cover editing, acting in the digital era, sustainability, AI and VFX technologies.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 8 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for acting
Adjective
Sean Patrick Thomas gets another great acting moment here with Polarity’s tearful relief at feeling healthy again.
—Noun
If music is confession, then acting is reconciliation for Ariana Grande.
—Verb
During takeoff and subsonic flight, for example, an ACE can open extra bypass ducts, effectively acting like a turbofan, quieter and efficient.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for acting
Adjective
-
Beere began serving as the interim chief in November, following Chief Floyd Mitchell’s abrupt resignation weeks earlier.—
-
In moving Baker to the budget office, Levine Cava also named Lydia Lopez, an assistant library director, as his interim replacement.—
Noun
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Dame Helen Mirren was named the recipient of the 2026 Cecil B, DeMille Award at the Golden Globes for her contribution to the film and entertainment industries.—
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Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.—
Verb
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The teen was playing basketball at the park when he was approached by a group of young adults, who asked the teen if he was affiliated with a gang and tried to start a fight, police said.—
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Guys were playing hard, everybody on that drive was doing their job, and getting guys down on the ground.—
Verb
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Hardemon, working with Miami City Commission Chairwoman Christine King and CRA Executive Director James McQueen, imagined a future that put Overtown at the center of art and innovation.—
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Not working with the federal agency is not the response the City of Pittsburgh Republican Committee wanted to hear.—
Verb
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The seeming authenticity of that formula perfectly serves the social-media narrative that the truth can come only from streamers and YouTubers.—
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And who can forget the seeming constant predictions that another recession was just around the corner?—
Verb
-
Beere began serving as the interim chief in November, following Chief Floyd Mitchell’s abrupt resignation weeks earlier.—
-
Return serving dishes and barware to cabinets and shelves.—
Verb
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Parents reported that their children loved playing with the original Nékojita FuFu, pretending to fan their faces and blow-dry their hair.—
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How naïve must Trump be to believe that Putin cares about Ukraine’s well-being after invading it, killing thousands of its people, kidnapping tens of thousands of Ukrainian children back to Russia, and continuing to bomb civilian apartment buildings while pretending to negotiate a peace deal?—
Verb
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Ricky Gervais has hosted the Golden Globes five times, making Hollywood sweat with his take-no-prisoners approach to jokes mocking showbiz.—
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Now Sweeney, 75, is breaking his silence on a decades-long feud with Chevy Chase after Chase proposed Sweeney appear in an SNL sketch mocking the AIDS epidemic.—
Cite this Entry
“Acting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acting. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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