: the art or practice of representing a character on a stage or before cameras
1
: holding a temporary rank or position : performing services temporarily
acting president
2
a
: suitable for stage performance
an acting play
b
: prepared with directions for actors
an acting text of a play
Synonyms
Examples of acting in a Sentence
Noun
Her acting is unusually good in this film.
a new style of acting
Adjective
The college's acting president will be replaced with a permanent one next fall.
will serve as acting president of the university until a permanent replacement can be found
Recent Examples on the Web
Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
He’s got an endless amount of knowledge and experience about life and acting, and he’s got the best stories.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
Guiding the reader through the various elements of filmmaking, from writing and shooting to acting and editing, Lumet is far more compassionate than vindictive.
—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Here, one woman (Katherine Henly, tireless in a role with equal demands on her voice and acting skills) is whisked from scene to scene, like a latter-day Wozzeck.
—Joshua Barone, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
According to her, one of the challenges of becoming Bess was avoiding being overly influenced by actress Emily Watson, who earned an best actress Oscar nomination in 1997 for her luminous acting as Bess.
—Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 3 Apr. 2024
But acting styles and cultural definitions of masculinity change with the decades, and the archetype of the hostile, mercurial acting artiste that Brando birthed appears to be dying out.
—Ty Burr, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
Her screen acting debut came in 1950s The Goldbergs, and her breakthrough role quickly followed.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 1 Apr. 2024
Outside of acting, Zendaya is co-chairing the 2024 Met Gala with Chris Hemsworth, Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez.
—Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
Mckinley Franklin, Peoplemag, 31 Mar. 2024
Kardashian’s leading role in the 12th season marks the most prominent acting role to date for the reality star.
—Anna Tingley, Variety, 3 Apr. 2024
The 37-year-old breakout, who, for her turn as Mollie in Martin Scorsese’s drama, became the first Indigenous American to be nominated for an acting Oscar, was profiled by The New Yorker on Feb. 4.
—Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Feb. 2024
His first acting role was in Benny and Josh Safdie's 2014 feature Heaven Knows What.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 28 Feb. 2024
Help from old laws Su remains in an acting role because of an unusual law passed in 1946 and amended in 1986.
—David Lightman, Sacramento Bee, 28 Feb. 2024
Even among the regular cast, a stiff yet exuberant acting style prevails.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 31 Aug. 2023
Among the acting nods for Killers of the Flower Moon include one for Lily Gladstone in the Best Actress category, and veteran Robert De Niro, who is up for Best Supporting Actor.
—Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 23 Jan. 2024
At the 2023 Oscars, Everything Everywhere All at Once won best picture as well as acting nods for Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis; and writing and directing Oscars for Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.
—Hilary Lewis, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Jan. 2024
Noun
Peck would accompany Bell to acting auditions in Los Angeles, which were at least an hour away from where Bell lived with his mother.
—Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
He’s got an endless amount of knowledge and experience about life and acting, and he’s got the best stories.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
Guiding the reader through the various elements of filmmaking, from writing and shooting to acting and editing, Lumet is far more compassionate than vindictive.
—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Here, one woman (Katherine Henly, tireless in a role with equal demands on her voice and acting skills) is whisked from scene to scene, like a latter-day Wozzeck.
—Joshua Barone, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
According to her, one of the challenges of becoming Bess was avoiding being overly influenced by actress Emily Watson, who earned an best actress Oscar nomination in 1997 for her luminous acting as Bess.
—Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 3 Apr. 2024
But acting styles and cultural definitions of masculinity change with the decades, and the archetype of the hostile, mercurial acting artiste that Brando birthed appears to be dying out.
—Ty Burr, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
Her screen acting debut came in 1950s The Goldbergs, and her breakthrough role quickly followed.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 1 Apr. 2024
Outside of acting, Zendaya is co-chairing the 2024 Met Gala with Chris Hemsworth, Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez.
—Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
Adjective
Her most recent acting credit is for K. Asher Levin’s 2020 drama series Players.
—Mckinley Franklin, Peoplemag, 31 Mar. 2024
Kardashian’s leading role in the 12th season marks the most prominent acting role to date for the reality star.
—Anna Tingley, Variety, 3 Apr. 2024
The 37-year-old breakout, who, for her turn as Mollie in Martin Scorsese’s drama, became the first Indigenous American to be nominated for an acting Oscar, was profiled by The New Yorker on Feb. 4.
—Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Feb. 2024
His first acting role was in Benny and Josh Safdie's 2014 feature Heaven Knows What.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 28 Feb. 2024
Help from old laws Su remains in an acting role because of an unusual law passed in 1946 and amended in 1986.
—David Lightman, Sacramento Bee, 28 Feb. 2024
Even among the regular cast, a stiff yet exuberant acting style prevails.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 31 Aug. 2023
Among the acting nods for Killers of the Flower Moon include one for Lily Gladstone in the Best Actress category, and veteran Robert De Niro, who is up for Best Supporting Actor.
—Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 23 Jan. 2024
At the 2023 Oscars, Everything Everywhere All at Once won best picture as well as acting nods for Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis; and writing and directing Oscars for Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.
—Hilary Lewis, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'acting.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near acting
Cite this Entry
“Acting.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acting. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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