acting 1 of 3

Definition of actingnext
as in interim
serving in a position for the time being will serve as acting president of the university until a permanent replacement can be found

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

acting

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noun

acting

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verb

present participle of act
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2
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as in serving
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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5
6
as in mocking
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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Example 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 acting
Adjective
PinkPantheress has locked in her first-ever acting role in a movie. — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 13 July 2026 Foreign aid has been a clear focus; after USAID was razed last year, Vought was made acting administrator and tasked with overseeing the closeout of the agency. — Anna Maria Barry-Jester, ProPublica, 22 June 2026
Noun
Cruise is absolutely not at the top of the pack, as other stars who have yet to win an Oscar for their acting, like John Malkovich, Matt Damon, and Ryan Gosling, are in contending films that have broader appeal. — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 29 Sep. 2026 Log action because reading and acting aren’t the same permission. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Verb
Related Stories The campaign will extend across all the major categories, including best picture, director and acting, while Simon Rich’s screenplay will compete in original screenplay and every craft department will receive a full campaign. — Clayton Davis, Variety, 5 Oct. 2026 Karondwa is the acting president of the party's federal executive in Butembo in North Kivu province, one of the hot spots of the outbreak. — Arkansas Online, 29 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for acting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acting
Adjective
  • An interim commissioner will be announced at a later date, the statement noted.
    — Victoria Arancio, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Plans for interim leadership are in the works, the news release said.
    — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Max Goldbart here taking you through a week in which one of the biggest entertainment deals of this century was waved through.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2026
  • That money is split among entertainment-industry health and retirement funds, the Motion Picture & Television Fund and a National Association of Attorneys General fund.
    — Andrew McGowan, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The Miami Hurricanes are back on the road and playing under the lights in a key Atlantic Coast Conference game.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 4 Oct. 2026
  • And his relatives in turn gave notes to the actors playing their younger selves and were encouraged to interrogate Ba as his coming-of-age story was dramatized.
    — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 4 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Graduations and weddings, for example, are another channel that’s working extremely well.
    — Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 7 Oct. 2026
  • There is also a kids club providing childcare and kid-friendly activities provided by a team with over eight years experience working with children.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Revelations about similar incidents of seeming collective action by groups of agents have appeared every week since.
    — Michael Morris, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The wait for season three will almost certainly be a bit shorter, with a return next fall seeming very plausible given the second season had an eight-month turnaround after filming wrapped.
    — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Three years on, the worst security failure in Israel's history now threatens to end the career of its longest-serving prime minister.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Vance Boelter is already serving a federal life sentence for the attack on Minnesota lawmakers that killed House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.
    — Jeff Wagner, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Brown's fourth-quarter touchdown celebration included putting his hand to his crotch and then to his face before pretending to pass out.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 Sep. 2026
  • If Gayle Newland had been a cis man who had seduced Miss X by pretending to be Kye Fortune, the case would have fallen outside the McNally principle, and Miss X would have had very little chance of having her complaint heard.
    — S. C. Cornell, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Vrabel was mocking but wasn't necessarily totally accurate, either.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Five times in the last two months, the president has sneered at and insulted female reporters, mocking their appearance or dismissing their credentials.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Acting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acting. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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