Act Acting Acted Extra Examples ækt Stop Government

• it is vital that we act to stop the destruction of the rainforests.
• by acting quickly doctors saved her life.
• the government was criticized for failing to act decisively.
• initial reports indicated he acted alone.

act

Verb Forms

1. to do something for a particular purpose or in order to deal with a situation
• It is vital that we act to stop the destruction of the rainforests.
• By acting quickly doctors saved her life.
• The government was criticized for failing to act decisively.
• Initial reports indicated he acted alone.
• He claims he acted in self-defence.
• We acted in good faith (= believing that we were doing the right thing).
• They are acting out of self-interest.
• She was not acting for personal gain.

Extra Examples

• George knew about the letter and acted accordingly.
• His defence was that he had acted in good faith.
• I suspected that he was acting out of malice.
• The country's highest court ruled that police had acted unlawfully.
• The government must act promptly to change this law.
• The government needs to act against the sale of these dangerous toys.
• The jury accepted that he had acted in self defence.
• We are all acting in the best interests of the children.
• The girl's life was saved because the doctors acted so promptly.
2. to behave in a particular way
• The man was seen acting suspiciously.
• I think that most employers act responsibly in these situations.
• Decide what your priorities are and act accordingly (= in an appropriate way).
• Stop acting like spoilt children!
• She was acting as if she'd seen a ghost.

Extra Examples

• All citizens have a duty to act responsibly and show respect to others.
• You acted very wisely in coming to me.
• John's been acting very strangely lately.
3. to perform a part in a play or film
• Have you ever acted?
• He just can't act.
• Most of the cast act well.
• The play was well acted.
• Who's acting the part of Hamlet?
• She is acting the role of Juliet.
4. to pretend by your behaviour to be a particular type of person
• SEE ALSO play-act
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/play-act
• He's been acting the devoted husband all day.
• I decided to act dumb.
• to act weird/strange/normal/stupid
• He acts all macho, but he’s a real softie underneath.

Extra Examples

• You've been acting strange lately.
• I found myself acting the part of the happy newly-married wife.
5. to perform a particular role or function
• She acted as an adviser to the committee.
• Can you act as interpreter?
• We hope this sentence will act as a deterrent to others.
• Culture can act as a powerful catalyst for urban regeneration.
• The council is only really acting as an agent.
• hormones in the brain that act like natural painkillers
6. to have an effect on something
• Alcohol acts quickly on the brain.
• It took a few minutes for the drug to act.

Extra Examples

• The bacteria act on sugars to form acids.
• We need to understand the forces that act on the spine.
• Most of these drugs acted directly on the blood vessels.
• Nuclear and non-nuclear matter act on each other.
7. to behave in a stupid way in order to make people laugh, especially in a way that may also annoy them
• Quit playing the fool and get some work done!

Extra Examples

• Stop acting the fool and be serious!
• He thought that being an actor only involved tap dancing and playing the fool.
8. to behave in a way that is suitable for somebody of your age and not as though you were much younger
• Isn’t it time you started acting your age?
9. to behave in a very confident way that annoys other people, for example by telling them what to do
• She was acting as if she owned the place.