[
US
/ˈækt/
]
[ UK /ˈækt/ ]
[ UK /ˈækt/ ]
VERB
- be engaged in an activity, often for no particular purpose other than pleasure
-
be suitable for theatrical performance
This scene acts well -
discharge one's duties
In what capacity are you acting?
She acts as the chair -
have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected
The medicine works only if you take it with a lot of water
This method doesn't work
The breaks of my new car act quickly
The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought
How does your idea work in practice? -
pretend to have certain qualities or state of mind
She plays deaf when the news are bad
He acted the idiot -
perform on a stage or theater
He acted in `Julius Caesar'
She acts in this play
I played in `A Christmas Carol' -
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
think before you act
The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel
We must move quickly
The governor should act on the new energy bill -
behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself
You should act like an adult
The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people
What makes her do this way?
Don't behave like a fool -
play a role or part
She wants to act Lady Macbeth, but she is too young for the role
Gielgud played Hamlet
She played the servant to her husband's master -
behave unnaturally or affectedly
She's just acting
NOUN
-
a short performance that is part of a longer program
she had a catchy little routine
it was one of the best numbers he ever did
he did his act three times every evening - a subdivision of a play or opera or ballet
- something that people do or cause to happen
-
a manifestation of insincerity
he put on quite an act for her benefit - a legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body
How To Use act In A Sentence
- What we do not know are the precise weighting of factors that go into why prices increase at any particular time.
- Three tall memorial archways inscribed with Chinese characters stand outside the temple.
- It sparked to life in the second act, when the symbolism gave way to themes of lust and sexual temptation.
- Dom recognized a master tactician when he saw one. SOMEDAY MY PRINCE
- Elisabeth found herself with a straggle of colonists in a mosquito-ridden, uncleared jungle where sandflies bored into the skin of the feet and the clay soil was so intractable that nothing would grow.
- Someone who really wanted to stop unsanctioned immigration would begin here, by busting the small contractors who employ these workers on a contingent basis.
- ‘In the absence of those assurances, we will have no choice but to ballot for industrial action,’ he said.
- Moreover, Mr Webb's point about what he calls disinterested management -- that is to say, the management of banks by officers whose remuneration bears no relation to the profit made on each piece of business transacted -- is one of the matters in which English banking seems likely at least to be modified. War-Time Financial Problems
- A lot of the wrinklies, in fact, come along with holes in their shirts and jerseys.
- The lizard's light brown skin acts as camouflage in the desert sand.