acts 1 of 2

plural of act
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as in numbers
a performance regularly presented by an individual or group in his nightclub act he impersonates a veritable galaxy of movie stars

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acts

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of act
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2
as in works
to produce a desired effect the painkiller acted surprisingly quickly

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as in functions
to have a certain purpose the tail feathers of woodpeckers act as props while the birds excavate tree trunks for insects

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as in mocks
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

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Examples of acts in a Sentence

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The act was designed to counter the problems of the 1876 election, when some states submitted competing slates; that election required a compromise to settle on a winner, and the cost was undoing many of the Reconstruction Acts. Jenna Bednar, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2024 Related Shakira Ties Enrique Iglesias for Most Top 10s on Latin Airplay Among Pop Acts 10/22/2024 Previously, Brat peaked at No. 3 on the ARIA Chart earlier this year. Lars Brandle, Billboard, 22 Oct. 2024 What started in the late 1970s with landmark laws like the Resource Conservation Recovery Act and the Clean Water and Air Acts has grown into a complex regulatory landscape. John F. McQuillan, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024 Mordecai Sheftall, who lived in Georgia, was one of the few people there who had pledged to resist the Coercive Acts: Britain’s efforts to blockade Boston and place Massachusetts under military rule after the Boston Tea Party. Adam Jortner, The Conversation, 18 Oct. 2024 Doris Kearns Goodwin & Bryan Cranston’s An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s and Ali Velshi’s Small Acts of Courage. Paul Grein, Billboard, 10 Oct. 2024 In 2018, Han was also shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Human Acts. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Oct. 2024 The South Korean author is known for works such as The Vegetarian—which won the International Booker prize in 2016—The White Book, Human Acts, and Greek Lessons. Rebecca Schneid, TIME, 10 Oct. 2024 Part of this is due to fiscal stimulus, including the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal in 2021 or billions of dollars in additional investment mobilized by the CHIPS and Inflation Reduction Acts. Greg McKenna, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Acts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acts. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.

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