Acting vs. Act

Actingadjective

Temporarily assuming the duties or authority of another person when they are unable to do their job.

‘The Acting Minister must sign Executive Council documents in a Minister's absence.’; ‘Acting President of the United States is a temporary office in the government of the United States.’;

Actnoun

(countable) Something done, a deed.

‘an act of goodwill’;

Actingverb

present participle of act

Actnoun

Actuality.

Actingnoun

An intended action or deed.

Actnoun

(countable) A product of a legislative body, a statute.

Actingnoun

Pretending.

Actnoun

The process of doing something.

‘He was caught in the act of stealing.’;

Actingnoun

(drama) The occupation of an actor.

Actnoun

(countable) A formal or official record of something done.

Actingnoun

(legal) The deeds or actions of parties are called actings to avoid confusion with the legal senses of deeds and actions.

Actnoun

(countable) A division of a theatrical performance.

‘The pivotal moment in the play was in the first scene of the second act.’;

Actingadjective

Operating in any way.

Actnoun

(countable) A performer or performers in a show.

‘Which act did you prefer? The soloist or the band?’;

Actingadjective

Doing duty for another; officiating; as, an acting superintendent.

Actnoun

(countable) Any organized activity.

Actingnoun

the performance of a part or role in a drama

Actnoun

(countable) A display of behaviour.

Actingadjective

serving temporarily especially as a substitute;

‘the acting president’;

Actnoun

A thesis maintained in public, in some English universities, by a candidate for a degree, or to show the proficiency of a student.

Acting

Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of skills, including a well-developed imagination, emotional facility, physical expressivity, vocal projection, clarity of speech, and the ability to interpret drama.

Actnoun

(countable) A display of behaviour meant to deceive.

‘to put on an act’;

Actverb

(intransitive) To do something.

‘If you don't act soon, you will be in trouble.’;

Actverb

To do (something); to perform.

Actverb

(intransitive) To perform a theatrical role.

‘I started acting at the age of eleven in my local theatre.’;

Actverb

(ergative) Of a play: to be acted out (well or badly).

Actverb

(intransitive) To behave in a certain way.

‘He's acting strangely - I think there's something wrong with him.’;

Actverb

(copulative) To convey an appearance of being.

‘He acted unconcerned so the others wouldn't worry.’;

Actverb

To do something that causes a change binding on the doer.

‘act on behalf of John’;

Actverb

To have an effect (on).

‘High-pressure oxygen acts on the central nervous system and may cause convulsions or death.’; ‘Gravitational force acts on heavy bodies.’;

Actverb

(transitive) To play (a role).

‘He's been acting Shakespearean leads since he was twelve.’;

Actverb

(transitive) To feign.

‘He acted the angry parent, but was secretly amused.’;

Actverb

To map via a homomorphism to a group of automorphisms (of).

‘This group acts on the circle, so it can't be left-orderable!’;

Actverb

To move to action; to actuate; to animate.

Actnoun

That which is done or doing; the exercise of power, or the effect, of which power exerted is the cause; a performance; a deed.

‘That best portion of a good man's life,His little, nameless, unremembered actsOf kindness and of love.’;

Actnoun

A state of reality or real existence as opposed to a possibility or possible existence.

‘The seeds of plants are not at first in act, but in possibility, what they afterward grow to be.’;

Actnoun

Process of doing; action. In act, in the very doing; on the point of (doing).

‘This woman was taken . . . in the very act.’;

Actverb

To move to action; to actuate; to animate.

‘Self-love, the spring of motion, acts the soul.’;

Actverb

To perform; to execute; to do.

‘That we act our temporal affairs with a desire no greater than our necessity.’; ‘Industry doth beget by producing good habits, and facility of acting things expedient for us to do.’; ‘Uplifted hands that at convenient timesCould act extortion and the worst of crimes.’;

Actverb

To perform, as an actor; to represent dramatically on the stage.

Actverb

To assume the office or character of; to play; to personate; as, to act the hero.

Actverb

To feign or counterfeit; to simulate.

‘With acted fear the villain thus pursued.’;

Actverb

To exert power; to produce an effect; as, the stomach acts upon food.

Actverb

To perform actions; to fulfill functions; to put forth energy; to move, as opposed to remaining at rest; to carry into effect a determination of the will.

‘He hangs between, in doubt to act or rest.’;

Actverb

To behave or conduct, as in morals, private duties, or public offices; to bear or deport one's self; as, we know not why he has acted so.

Actverb

To perform on the stage; to represent a character.

‘To show the world how Garrick did not act.’;

Actnoun

a legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body

Actnoun

something that people do or cause to happen

Actnoun

a subdivision of a play or opera or ballet

Actnoun

a short theatrical performance that is part of a longer program;

‘he did his act three times every evening’; ‘she had a catchy little routine’; ‘it was one of the best numbers he ever did’;

Actnoun

a manifestation of insincerity;

‘he put on quite an act for her benefit’;

Actverb

perform an action, or work out or perform (an action);

‘think before you act’; ‘We must move quickly’; ‘The governor should act on the new energy bill’; ‘The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel’;

Actverb

behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself;

‘You should act like an adult’; ‘Don't behave like a fool’; ‘What makes her do this way?’; ‘The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people’;

Actverb

play a role or part;

‘Gielgud played Hamlet’; ‘She wants to act Lady Macbeth, but she is too young for the role’; ‘She played the servant to her husband's master’;

Actverb

discharge one's duties;

‘She acts as the chair’; ‘In what capacity are you acting?’;

Actverb

pretend to have certain qualities or state of mind;

‘He acted the idiot’; ‘She plays deaf when the news are bad’;

Actverb

be suitable for theatrical performance;

‘This scene acts well’;

Actverb

have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected;

‘The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought’; ‘How does your idea work in practice?’; ‘This method doesn't work’; ‘The breaks of my new car act quickly’; ‘The medicine works only if you take it with a lot of water’;

Actverb

be engaged in an activity, often for no particular purpose other than pleasure

Actverb

behave unnaturally or affectedly;

‘She's just acting’;

Actverb

perform on a stage or theater;

‘She acts in this play’; ‘He acted in `Julius Caesar'’; ‘I played in `A Christmas Carol'’;