Act Acting Acted Stop ækt Strangely Behave I

• it is vital that we act to stop the destruction of the rainforests.
• the girl's life was saved because the doctors acted so promptly.
• he claims he acted in self-defence.
• john's been acting very strangely lately.

act

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.
• The girl's life was saved because the doctors acted so promptly.
• He claims he acted in self-defence.
2. to behave in a particular way
• John's been acting very strangely lately.
• Stop acting like spoilt children!
• She was acting as if she'd seen a ghost.
• She was acting like she'd seen a ghost.
3. to pretend by your behaviour to be a particular type of person
• He's been acting the devoted husband all day.
• I decided to act dumb.
• He acts all macho, but he’s a real softie underneath.
4. to perform a part in a play or film/movie
• Have you ever acted?
• Most of the cast act well.
• Who's acting (the part of) Hamlet?
• The play was well acted.
5. to perform a particular role or function
• Can you act as interpreter?
• A five-year sentence should act as a deterrent to others.
• 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.
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!
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

Extra Examples

• All citizens have a duty to act responsibly and show respect to others.
• George knew about the letter and acted accordingly.
• His defence was that he had acted in good faith.
• His lawyers are continuing to act for him.
• I suspected that he was acting out of malice.
• Jenny has been acting rather strangely recently.
• She is acting the role of Juliet.
• She was acting as if she owned the place.
• Stop acting like a spoiled child.
• 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 government was criticized for failing to act decisively.
• The jury accepted that he had acted in self defence.
• The play is well acted.
• We are all acting in the best interests of the children.
• A five-year sentence should act as a deterrent to others.
• He acts all macho but he’s a real softie underneath.
• He just can’t act.
• He’s been acting the devoted husband all day.
• I found myself acting the part of the happy newly-married wife.
• It is vital that we act to stop the destruction of the rainforests.
• John’s been acting very strangely lately.
• Most of these drugs acted directly on the blood vessels.
• Nuclear and non-nuclear matter act on each other.
• She was acting as if she’d seen a ghost.
• The bacteria act on sugars to form acids.
• The girl’s life was saved because the doctors acted so promptly.
• They acted at once/immediately/promptly/quickly/swiftly.
• We need to understand the forces that act on the spine.
• You acted very wisely in coming to me.
• to act wisely/out of character/fairly/unlawfully

Verb Forms

• present simple I / you / we / they act
• he / she / it acts
• past simple acted
• past participle acted
• -ing form acting

Word Origin

• late Middle English: from Latin actus ‘event, thing done’, act- ‘done’, from the verb agere, reinforced by the French noun acte.