acted

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in mocked
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

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of acted In addition to his courtroom work, Dickey has acted as a legal analyst for CNN and other media outlets. Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024 The watchdog noted that while career prosecutors acted without evidence of retaliatory motives, the wide-reaching nature of these investigations created the appearance of executive interference in legislative oversight. Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024 Cho previously acted as Google Workspace’s head of user experience, working on services like Gmail, Google Drive and Google Meet. Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 10 Dec. 2024 Some agreed with his defense that Neely's behavior posed a threat, saying Penny acted to protect his fellow passengers. Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024 That Daniel Penny acted to defend others from a frightening figure on the train was of no legal relevance, from the prosecution’s point of view, given that Neely did not have a weapon or threaten a specific passenger directly. Adam Iscoe, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024 Prosecutors have said Penny acted recklessly and negligently by restraining Neely in a chokehold for so long, even after Neely stopped moving. Gloria Pazmino, CNN, 9 Dec. 2024 Inside the interferometer, the photons first passed through a crystal, which acted as the first beam splitter, dividing the path of photons into two separate directions. Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 8 Dec. 2024 President Biden and the United States have acted with caution with no plans to step in. ABC News, 8 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acted
Verb
  • Chopra also appeared to have played dress-up with the toddler, who in one photo clapped her hands while sporting long, press-on nails.
    Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
  • The rider, played by Floriane Issert, a noncommissioned officer of the National Gendarmerie, was meant to represent the Olympic spirit and Sequana, goddess of the river and a symbol of resistance.
    Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 11 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • According to public records, Mangione spent time at Stanford University in 2019 and once worked for the Santa Monica company TrueCar, a digital marketplace for automobiles.
    Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Becca Stanek has worked as an editor and writer in the personal finance space since 2017.
    Becca Stanek, theweek, 11 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • Something dim and unknowable seemed to be asking me to trust it.
    Rebekah Pahl, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2024
  • But the soft-spoken director rarely seemed to go out of his way to publicly confront the White House.
    Eric Tucker, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • In her memoir, Gypsy — who served eight years in prison, and was released in December 2023 — opened up about her mother's murder, her time in prison, her struggles with addiction, and more.
    Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Moreover, the use of white draws parallels with NASA's Apollo 11 mission aesthetics, where white served a crucial functional role as a heat shield.
    Bhanu Chopra, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • In 1966, Cole starred with Deborah Walley (Gidget Goes Hawaiian) in the 3D sci-fi film The Bubble and appeared on an episode of Gunsmoke in which his character pretended to be the son of a man killed by Matt Dillon (James Arness).
    Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Dec. 2024
  • Marino took the snap, pretended to spike the ball to stop the clock, and threw a touchdown pass to Ingram, who was open after rookie cornerback Aaron Glenn bought Marino's fake.
    Jim Reineking, USA TODAY, 6 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • Saturday Night Live mocked President Joe Biden's recent pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, during the cold open of its latest episode.
    Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 8 Dec. 2024
  • Tens of thousands of social media users mocked the death of the health insurance CEO and showed little sympathy after the killing.
    Holly Yan, CNN, 7 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • These tools also enable teams to better meet KPIs such as platform service availability, regression-free deployments and ensuring maintenance is performed within estimated timeframes.
    Igor Rikalo, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Google says that its chip performed a computation in under five minutes that would take today’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years - that is 1 followed by 25 zeros.
    Trefis Team, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • As with any design period, there’s a massive range in how bathrooms looked in the 1960s.
    Rachel Davies, Architectural Digest, 11 Dec. 2024
  • If looked at purely as a branding exercise, Chouinard nailed the brief.
    Tripp Westbrook, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near acted

Cite this Entry

“Acted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acted. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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