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
As such, when a supporting character acts up, Dreux or Alyssa can rib them, but not too viciously.
—
Fred Topel, Deadline, 17 Jan. 2025
All that lightweight foam underfoot can help keep your arches from acting up when your mileage starts to climb on long-distance runs.
—Jennifer Heimlich, SELF, 27 Nov. 2024
Urban Meyer is getting increasingly frustrated with him and other players acting up, to the point that the stress and increasingly long work hours are beginning to really affect his physical health.
—Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for act up
Fred Topel, Deadline, 17 Jan. 2025
All that lightweight foam underfoot can help keep your arches from acting up when your mileage starts to climb on long-distance runs.
—Jennifer Heimlich, SELF, 27 Nov. 2024
Urban Meyer is getting increasingly frustrated with him and other players acting up, to the point that the stress and increasingly long work hours are beginning to really affect his physical health.
—Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for act up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for act up
Verb
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new exhibition (March 25) takes a wary view of its own contents, which span half a millennium, arguing that the West acted out its daydreams of a docile Orient one cup-and-saucer at a time.—
Shauna Lyon,
The New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2025
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The Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk does not officially lead but has acted out his objectives, has been orchestrating a campaign to drastically cut the federal workforce and budget.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA TODAY,
27 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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Severe crashes were typically due to failure to yield, failure to reduce speed, improper or unsafe lane usage, disobeying traffic signs and signals, and roadway departure, according to Vissers’ presentation.—
Maya Wilkins,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Mar. 2025
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The suspect disobeyed and was subsequently shot, OPD said.—
Elainie Barraza,
Orlando Sentinel,
1 Mar. 2025
Verb
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In the meantime, aside from Ohio and another cancellation in Oklahoma City due to back injury, the tour has in fact not been ruined − carrying on as planned.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA TODAY,
1 Mar. 2025
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The card takes place at Arena CDMX and will be carried on ESPN2.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 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 13 Mar. 2025.
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