1
2
as in show
a display of emotion or behavior that is insincere or intended to deceive
was putting on an act when she said she didn't mind being left out of the outing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in law
a rule of conduct or action laid down by a governing authority and especially a legislature
the Americans with Disabilities Act requires public buildings to have wheelchair access
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in thing
something done by someone
it's acts such as this—lying about having to work late—that make me feel like I can't trust you
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in to play
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
3
4
5
as in to pretend
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 to mock
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
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Recent Examples of act
Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 21 Mar. 2025
The lawsuit accuses the department of violating those two acts — the Student Loan Reform Act of 1993 and the Higher Education Act of 1965.
—Kate Linderman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Mar. 2025
Jaron Lanier, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2025
But the company appears to be positioning itself to develop and sell a proprietary geoengineering technology to governments that are considering making modifications to the global climate—acting like a kind of defense contractor for climate alteration.
—Ramin Skibba, WIRED, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for act
Noun
More acts will be announced in the lead-up to the festival.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 21 Mar. 2025
The lawsuit accuses the department of violating those two acts — the Student Loan Reform Act of 1993 and the Higher Education Act of 1965.
—Kate Linderman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Mar. 2025
Verb
People are often frustrated by trying to get things done online—and that, in many cases, has become the only way to act.
—Jaron Lanier, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2025
But the company appears to be positioning itself to develop and sell a proprietary geoengineering technology to governments that are considering making modifications to the global climate—acting like a kind of defense contractor for climate alteration.
—Ramin Skibba, WIRED, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for act
Recent Examples of Synonyms for act
Noun
-
The military suffered through years of lean times for recruiting, but the numbers have taken a dramatic turn for the better.—
Cory Smith,
Baltimore Sun,
20 Mar. 2025
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One of those learners might stumble upon their own improvement and pass it along in turn.—
Eli Elster,
The Conversation,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
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And be sure to check out my latest streaming guide for all the other shows and movies out this weekend.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes,
22 Mar. 2025
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But one of the show’s most viral clips is much more representative: The veteran SNL writer Jim Downey pretends to have never heard about Jeffrey Epstein’s misdeeds, to O’Brien’s bleating objections.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 2025
Noun
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However, her response states that because legislative bodies are not responsible for enforcing laws, she is blocked from speaking to lawmakers.—
Clare Duffy,
CNN,
20 Mar. 2025
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The truth was somewhere in the middle: No, Kid Nation was never officially charged with violating child labor laws, but one kid did accidentally drink bleach — and another sustained a minor burn while cooking.—
Kristen Baldwin,
EW.com,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Jake Paul has nothing but good things to say about his Disney days.—
Nicholas Rice,
People.com,
31 Mar. 2025
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Few things can complicate the otherwise straightforward matter of death quite like family and the possibility of inheritance.—
Ashley Case,
Forbes.com,
31 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Engage Your Senses In a shared office environment, playing loud music or lighting a scented candle is frowned upon.—
Kate Wieczorek,
Forbes.com,
29 Mar. 2025
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The Rebellion Is Here Moss, who stars, executive produces and directs on the series, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the emotional impact of becoming a mother herself before playing June one last time for The Handmaid’s Tale.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
To that end, Nvidia has been working on a set of performance testing tools, called DGX Cloud Benchmark Recipes, that are designed to help organizations evaluate how their hardware and cloud infrastructure perform when running the most advanced AI models available today.—
Dave Altavilla,
Forbes,
20 Mar. 2025
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The university says Suri is working on a project that looks into potential causes that hinder cooperation among religiously diverse societies and possibilities to overcome those hindrances.—
Gary Grumbach,
NBC News,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The bulk of any 'savings' seems to come from cutting approximately 300,000 W-2 government employees.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
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So people don’t ever seem too amped up around here.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
26 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Cranial prostheses serve a similar purpose and should receive equal consideration.—
Nathan Kattapuram,
Baltimore Sun,
19 Mar. 2025
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Pete Marocco, a Trump administration political appointee who was serving as deputy head of USAID, disclosed the change in the email to State Department staff.—
Matt Brown and Ellen Knickmeyer,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Act.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/act. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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