act out


verb(adverb)
  1. (tr) to reproduce (an idea, former event, etc) in actions, often by mime

  2. psychiatry to express unconsciously (a repressed impulse or experience) in overt behaviour

Words Nearby act out

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use act out in a sentence

  • A spirit sometimes finds himself as if on a stage, and the pressure of a powerful will bids him to act out his own character.

    Beyond | Henry Seward Hubbard
  • We want the nation to act out the principles it believes in.

  • Relate the plot of some simple play, after which assign a part to each of several to act out.

  • He frankly professed relief that he had not after all to go to Court and act out the extravagant compliments he had written.

    The Art of Letters | Robert Lynd
  • The girls had full freedom to act out their natures, with little fear of ridicule or criticism.

    Louisa May Alcott | Louisa May Alcott

Other Idioms and Phrases with act out

act out

Perform or portray something or someone, as in As she read to the class, the teacher had each child act out a different character in the story. [c. 1600]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.