Dictionary Definition
act
Noun
1 a legal document codifying the result of
deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body [syn:
enactment]
2 something that people do or cause to happen
[syn: human
action, human
activity]
3 a subdivision of a play or opera or
ballet
4 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" [syn: routine,
number, turn, bit]
5 a manifestation of insincerity; "he put on
quite an act for her benefit"
Verb
1 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"
[syn: move] [ant: refrain]
2 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" [syn:
behave, do]
3 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" [syn: play, represent]
4 discharge one's duties; "She acts as the
chair"; "In what capacity are you acting?"
5 pretend to have certain qualities or state of
mind; "He acted the idiot"; "She plays deaf when the news are bad"
[syn: play, act as]
6 be suitable for theatrical performance; "This
scene acts well"
7 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" [syn:
work]
8 be engaged in an activity, often for no
particular purpose other than pleasure
10 perform on a stage or theater; "She acts in
this play"; "He acted in `Julius Caesar'"; "I played in `A
Christmas Carol'" [syn: play, roleplay, playact]
User Contributed Dictionary
see ACT
English
Etymology
From acta#Latin, plural of actum, from ago#Latin.Pronunciation
- /ækt/, /
Extensive Definition
Act or ACT may
mean:
- Act of Parliament (Act of Congress in the USA) a statute or law passed by a legislature.
- Act (band), a British band
- A.C.T, a Swedish progressive rock band
- Act (document), a document recording the legality of a transaction or contract
- Act (theater), a segment of a performance, such as a play or opera
- Acting, action of an actor in a theatrical performance
- ACT (examination), a college entrance examination
- ACT! is a customer relationship management (CRM) application
- Act (web browser), a type of web browser
- Australian Capital Territory, Australian seat of government
- Advanced Concepts Team, A Research Team of the European Space Agency
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, A psychological intervention
- Australian Cricket Team
- Act or S-act, the action of a monoid on a set, or a semiautomaton.
- Achterhoeks act ISO 639-3 language code
See also
act in Danish:
Handling
act in German:
Handlung
act in Spanish:
Acto
act in Galician:
Acto
act in Italian:
Atto
act in Japanese:
アクト
act in Polish: Akt
(ujednoznacznienie)
act in Simple English:
Act
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
accomplish, accomplished
fact, accomplishment, achieve, achievement, acquit, act, act a part, act as, act as
foil, act out, acta,
acting, action, actions, activism, activity, acts, address, adventure, affect, affectation, afterpiece, air, ape, appear, assume, barnstorm, be effective, be in
action, be productive, bear, bearing, behave, behavior, behavior pattern,
behavioral norm, behavioral science, bill, bit, blow, bluff, bring about, bring into
being, bring to fruition, bylaw, canon, carriage, carry, cause, characterize, chaser, come out, comport, comportment, concurrent
resolution, conduct,
constitution,
copy, counterfeit, coup, course, cover up, culture
pattern, curtain,
curtain call, curtain raiser, custom, dealings, decree, deed, demean, demeanor, deport, deportment, dictate, dictation, discourse, dissemble, dissimulate, divertimento, divertissement, do, doing, doings, edict, effectuate, effort, emote, emotionalize, employment, enact, enaction, enactment, endeavor, engineer, enterprise, epilogue, execute, exercise, exode, exodus, exploit, expository scene, fait
accompli, fake, feat, feign, finale, folkway, form, formality, formula, formulary, four-flush,
function, functioning, gammon, gest, gestures, get top billing,
go, go on, goings-on,
guise, hand, handiwork, have effect, have
free play, have play, hoke act, impersonate, industrialize, institution, interlude, intermezzo, intermission, introduction, job, joint resolution, jus, law, lawmaking, legislation, legislature, let on, let on
like, lex, maintien, make, make a pretense, make as if,
make believe, make like, maneuver, manner, manners, masquerade, masquerade as,
mass-produce, measure,
method, methodology, methods, mien, militate, mime, mimic, misbehave, modus vivendi,
motion, motions, move, movements, moves, number, observable behavior,
occupation, officiate, operate, operation, operations, ordinance, ordonnance, overproduce, overt act,
pantomime, pass for,
passage, passing, patter, pattern, percolate, perform, performance, perk, personate, play, play a part, play possum,
play the lead, playact,
poise, port, portray, pose, pose as, posture, practice, praxis, prescript, prescription, presence, pretend, pretend to be, procedure, proceed, proceeding, process, produce, production, profess, prologue, put on, quit, react, realize, register, regulation, represent, res gestae,
resolution, routine, rubric, rule, ruling, run, scene, serve, sham, shtick, simulate, sketch, skit, social science, song and
dance, stand-up comedy act, standing order, star, statute, steal the show,
step, stooge, striptease, stroke, stunt, style, swing, tactics, take, take effect, take off,
thing, thing done,
tick, tone, tour de force, transaction, tread the
boards, troupe, turn, undertaking, upstage, volume-produce,
way, way of life, ways, work, working, workings, works