1
as in to act out
to behave badly
the two-year-old was acting up in church so much that her dad had to take her outside
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to cut up
to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior
you should have seen the boys acting up when they put on their aprons
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of act up
At a group dinner, Benji begins acting up and acting out, eventually storming away — only to be heard playing the piano in the next room, and beautifully.
—
Jenelle Riley, Variety, 20 Dec. 2024
Exactly zero of the acts up for Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, or Best Rock Album are first-time nominees.
—Justin Curto, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
Service animals, emotional support animals, acting up.
—Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 20 Mar. 2024
But in 1954, Brando was at the height of his talents, bringing American acting up to and past to the British standard for the first time, with a realism achieved through that delicate balancing of gender qualities that pretty much no one before or after mastered in the same way.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 23 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for act up
Jenelle Riley, Variety, 20 Dec. 2024
Exactly zero of the acts up for Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, or Best Rock Album are first-time nominees.
—Justin Curto, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
Service animals, emotional support animals, acting up.
—Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 20 Mar. 2024
But in 1954, Brando was at the height of his talents, bringing American acting up to and past to the British standard for the first time, with a realism achieved through that delicate balancing of gender qualities that pretty much no one before or after mastered in the same way.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 23 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for act up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for act up
Verb
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Gracie using Benjamin Bratt to act out self-defense moves on national TV?—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
21 Feb. 2025
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Being a chameleon as a musician is one thing — Cyrus always had a great voice — but her ongoing identity crisis and need to act out came to define what was otherwise a productive and interesting time.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Popular freezer hacks include saving Parmesan rinds to deepen the flavor of soups, cutting up loaves of bread for toast, and even storing homemade jam without all the mess of canning.—
Meghan McCarron,
The Atlantic,
18 Feb. 2025
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By sector, technology suffered the worst, with job cuts up 128 percent on-month to 7,488, followed by automotive (123 percent), services (106 percent), retail (96 percent), and media and news (27 percent).—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
13 Feb. 2025
Verb
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For example, Lenovo previously showed off the idea of a rollable laptop — one where the screen rolls upwards to increase the size of the display.—
Arjun Kharpal,
CNBC,
2 Mar. 2025
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Hasbro Introduces Nano-mals, Has Peppa Pig news Hasbro, at Toy Fair, is showing off a new line of electronic, interactive pets called Nano-mals which can be brought to life when their owners play with them.—
Joan Verdon,
Forbes,
2 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Elsewhere, two boys, Frank and Alain, get up to assorted mischief, sneaking onto a baseball diamond at night or horsing around on railroad tracks, although there are hints that Frank’s family may leave Cuba soon.—
Ben Kenigsberg,
New York Times,
9 Jan. 2025
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In the video, Payne is shown horsing around with a large outdoor crowd and his bandmates, encouraging the fans to quiet their screaming and then raise the volume all the way back up.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA TODAY,
3 Feb. 2025
Verb
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There is some chance that the Court, which knows that its popularity and public trust are at historic lows, will fear that this President might contemplate disobeying a court’s order to issue citizenship documents, and choose not to test him.—
Jeannie Suk Gersen,
The New Yorker,
22 Jan. 2025
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Stella explains that Damon lied about disobeying orders and that there have been trust issues in the past.—
Vlada Gelman,
TVLine,
9 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Those who want to watch the USWNT games online can livestream them on TBS and NBC Universo, both carried on all three of Sling’s base plans.—
Danielle Directo-Meston,
The Hollywood Reporter,
19 Feb. 2025
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His family carries on his legacy of fierce compassion, stubborn persistence, and commitment to cheering on the Knicks.—
Jack Smart,
People.com,
17 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The headmistress of her school created bizarre ways to segregate her from the rest of the students, and when Kitty rebelled against these rules, she was expelled.—
Rebekah Taussig,
TIME,
19 Feb. 2025
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History is full of coups by either the ruled or those in charge of order rebelling against those who hold high office.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
18 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Act up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/act%20up. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.
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