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)

Examples of act out in a Sentence

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
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.
The Selzer poll has been viewed as evidence that pollsters calling the race a dead heat have been acting out of a desire to seek safety in numbers following the shock 2016 election result that failed to spot latent support for Trump. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2024 The trial ended with two deadlocked juries, unable to agree on whether the brothers were guilty of murder or acted out of fear. Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024 Letting your emotions rule and acting out of instinct will tempt you when patience is required to avoid a costly mistake. Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 30 Oct. 2024 For some reason, the Joker represented rebellion and madness to them in a way that a crazy guy who literally was the one being Joker and doing all the murders and acting out of line in court does not. Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for act out 

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1616, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of act out was circa 1616

Dictionary Entries Near act out

Cite this Entry

“Act out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/act%20out. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

act out

verb
1
: to represent in action
children act out what they read
2
: to behave badly especially as a way of letting out painful emotions

Medical Definition

act out

transitive verb
: 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)

More from Merriam-Webster on act out

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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