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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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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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
His first acting role was in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part III (1990). Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 9 June 2026 Her most notable acting role was on The Bold and the Beautiful. Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 9 June 2026
Noun
Kelley is much more interested in Taylor’s appetites—for food, for men, for feuds—than in the nuances of her acting. Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026 In a letter to ICE's acting director Thursday, Cortez Masto and 15 of her colleagues in the Democratic caucus questioned ICE's need to spend up to $20 million to buy the devices, as well as the agency's ability to use them appropriately. ABC News, 27 Aug. 2026
Verb
Homer has followed in his father’s footsteps into acting, joining the ensemble of Ryan Murphy’s The Shards in 2026. Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 31 Aug. 2026 PGMs are vital to hydrogen technology, acting as catalysts in fuel cells to power electric vehicles. Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 31 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for acting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acting
Adjective
  • Harris has continued to do a lot for the Trojans, who notched their first victory under interim coach Jimmy McCormack with a 50-7 win.
    Michael Osipoff, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2026
  • April De Leon, Broad interim school program manager, is overseeing the program.
    Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Potential suitors would also naturally be looking at what the future holds for the entertainment business at large.
    Sarah Whitten, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The global board game market has been on the upswing since 2020, when people looked for new entertainment and hobbies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Jolene Almendarez, Cincinnati Enquirer, 28 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The service got its name from the original Mechanical Turk, an 18th century chess-playing robot that was actually controlled by a human chess master.
    Annie Palmer, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
  • If your dog has any dental issues, playing any type of pulling game is not advisable.
    BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Other areas of concern are the library system's self-check-out kiosks, instances in which minor teenagers handle materials while working or volunteering at a branch, and platforms for loaning electronic materials, Adams said.
    Joseph Flaherty, Arkansas Online, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Now his focus is on following in his parents’ footsteps working with the Children’s Institute, an organization that supports children and families.
    Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 28 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • For Katwala, the most impressive elements from the Games were the robots playing tennis, seeming to react to the movement of the ball and, in a match featuring robots playing alongside humans in doubles, of their partner, too.
    Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • But more recently, cell phone videos taken by audience members at Knight performances, including one from a July 25 Hollywood Bowl concert, show the singer wandering the stage, her back to the audience and seeming to miss singing cues.
    Greg Evans, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Jesperson, who is currently serving multiple life sentences in Oregon, has confessed to killing eight women between 1990 and 1995.
    Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Harley spent a year as Florida International’s linebackers coach before serving six seasons at Pitt under Narduzzi.
    Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The two are only able to unlock a new understanding of each other by pretending to be strangers meeting for the first time.
    Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The fix is to stop pretending a general-purpose adult chatbot is a children's tutor.
    Dana Williams, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Former Ferrari president and chairman Luca di Montezemolo joined analysts and investors in mocking the model as ugly and decidedly un-Ferrari-like at a time where other luxury automakers were scaling back their own EV efforts amid low demand.
    Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Thousands of comments flooded the post mocking the department for spending its time on such a trivial matter.
    Frank Landymore, Futurism, 27 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Acting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acting. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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